The Alterian Saga: Destiny's Chosen
by Vincent Wolf
Summary: No longer cancelled! I'll finish up soon.
1. Prologue

Destiny's Chosen  
  
Prologue  
  
  
  
This is Vincent Wolf, your SI for this fic. This is my first fic, but I hope not the last. I do not own anything here except for the story and original characters. I write this with inspiration from Anthony Bault-The Gamemaster, Renian MagnanImus, and my mentor Echoes of the Mind. (If you think that's weird, I'm older than him!) You should all read their stories, they are both superb writers. Now, with all my shameless kissing up out of the way, I would like to start out with my own personal quote:  
  
"The only thing that separates fantasy from reality is doubt."  
  
And here is my prologue. If it is to short and you don't like the fact that there aren't any real action scenes, just remember it's just the prologue and leave me alone, it'll get better.  
  
  
  
I t was late at night in Portage, Michigan. The local coffeehouse, Caffeinated Visions, was just getting ready to close. Inside, the night manager, Vincent Wolf, went around turning off the stage lights. "Another boring day of stupid beatniks not appreciating REAL poetry. I hate this job." From head to toe he is wearing black, from his beatnik hat (which is the only thing I actually like about the freaks) down to his boots. The only exceptions are the pendant around his neck and his silver framed glasses, which he has a magnetic sunglass attachment for. He also has brown hair, a brown goatee, and hazel eyes.  
  
He walks out of the building and locks the door. Walking to the record store next door, the Metal Emporium, he sees a white male, with a windbreaker jacket, baggy pants, Lugs shoes, and a hat turned to the side. Vincent sees him walk into the store and just mutters to himself, "There goes another one…"  
  
Inside, Jason Schultes, the owner, is behind the counter playing 'Left Behind' by Slipknot on his electric guitar. He is about 6'6" with long dark hair tied back into a ponytail. The rapper wannabe walks into the store. He asks, "Yo, youz gotz da new DMX?"  
  
Without hesitation, Jason stops playing, sets his guitar down, and pulls a rifle out from under the counter. He yells, "LEAVE NOW OR LEAVE IN PIECES GHETTO SCUM!!!"  
  
The guy responds, "Yo, whyz ya gotz ta be playin' me like dat homie?" With that, Jason fires at him and he runs out the door.  
  
Back outside, Mike Allen walks up just in time to see the 'Ghetto Caucasian' (which is my term for a white person trying to be black) run out the door and bump into Vincent Wolf. He asks, "What the hell just happened?" Vincent answers, "Jason just took another shot at a 'ghetto superstar'." They both walk inside and start talking to Jason.  
  
Mike says, "Strange, in another life you two could have been friends."  
  
Jason just gives him an odd look and says, "Friends don't let friends become ghetto."  
  
Mike is just getting off the cell phone he is talking on. He puts it away and says to Jason, "You have to try to not shoot at people, I'm can't keep covering it all up for you."  
  
Jason responds, "I don't shoot at people, I shoot at rap fans."  
  
Mike is just about to say something back when Vincent cuts him off, "Hey, Mike, since your always helping Jason out with his 'rap issues', do you think you mite be able to help me out with my job? If you bought Caffeinated Visions I know I could get rid of those wannabe poets affectionately dubbed beatniks."  
  
"Sorry, man," Mike says, "but the anti-trust goons have already been getting suspicious about how I acquired all those other companies and merged them."  
  
Vincent asks, "How did you anyway, Mr. Richest Man On The Planet?"  
  
Mike thinks about his closet in his mansion just outside of Portage (This place is BIG. It has it's own zip code for crying out loud!) with Bill Gates, Shigeru Miyamoto, and executives from Sony, Sega, Capcom, and Squaresoft, all tied up and gagged inside. He says, "I have my ways."  
  
I don't want to cut things short guys, but I have to go home to get some rest," Vincent says. "I have another day of beatniks not appreciating REAL poets like me tomorrow."  
  
Jason asks, "But aren't YOU a beatnik"  
  
Vincent just gets that urge to kill look on his face. In a deep, almost demonic voice, he says, "I AM NOT A BEATNIK! I'M A POET! THERE'S A DIFFERENCE!" Vincent then knees Jason in the groin.  
  
Rather high pitched, Jason responds, "Gotcha."  
  
Mike then says, "Ouch. That looks like it hurt. But if your going, at least take what I came to bring you." He hands Vincent a handheld silver laptop- like device.  
  
Vincent says, "Cool. What is it?"  
  
Mike responds, "I call it the Techvision, or just Tek for short. It may be small, but it has ungodly amounts of memory. That specific one was built with you in mind. It has all your favorite music and video games for various systems, along with free unlimited Internet access. It is also customizable to whatever you want to put on it as well."  
  
Vincent is in such shock at how advanced it is, that he just incoherently mumbles, "Thank you" and walks out.  
  
When he gets home, he is still playing Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Tek, as well as listening to Puddle of Mud's 'Control'. He turns it off and puts it in his pocket so he can open the door. What he sees surprises him: a strange blue glow coming from down the hall.  
  
When he opens the door to his room, he sees a staff protruding out of the middle of his floor. At the top of the staff, there is 2 long dagger-like blades, curving inward around a blue gem. In the center of the gem is a golden design floating in the middle.  
  
Vincent has seen this symbol before, on his necklace to be exact. And there was also a place that he had seen it that only existed in another world. He knew exactly what it was.  
  
"The Triforce…" he says as he pulls the staff out of the floor. As he does, he is covered by the blue light and is no longer able to see because of the brightness.  
  
When Vincent is able to see again, he starts to look around. Around him is a wide-open space with 6 different colored panels, each with a different design on it. "Where am I?" he says out loud to himself. As he looks around more he realizes where he is. "This is the… Sacred Realm from Legend of Zelda… but how is that possible?"  
  
Just then he hears a female voice behind him. The voice says, "Welcome to the Sacred Realm, Vincent Wolf, Savior of Worlds."  
  
Vincent is taken by surprise by the voice, because he has looked around a few times now and hasn't seen anyone. He spins around and is completely shocked by what he sees.  
  
  
  
A/N: Well, how was it? I'd love to hear what you think, good, bad, or indifferent. Be forewarned though that this is just the prologue to my story, and the truly good stuff is yet to come. It will be in Hyrule to begin with, but I plan on going many places to make this a crossover. Feel free to MST, I have a very high tolerance for that sort of thing so I can take the punishment. All I ask is that you MST it, not just flat out insult it. I would definitely be honored if one of my friends from the messageboard MSTed my story. You all know who you are, so I don't believe I need to name any names. Now, if you would all review my story, I'd appreciate it. If you don't I will HUNT YOU DOWN! 


	2. The Legend

The Legend  
  
Hey everybody, this is the Wolf again, here to serve you legal garbage. I own nothing here but the characters I created and the storyline. Mike Allen, Jason Schultes, and me are also characters in 'Reality Shift' by Echoes of the Mind. If you have read that fic and enjoyed it, I'm hoping you will like this too. Not only do I plan on going to other worlds, but other reality's as well. Maybe Anthony Bault's Arcadia? Just need permission I guess. Don't worry Gamemaster, I'll be nice, and maybe even give you some good ideas. Well, all that said, on with the first chapter!  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Vincent Wolf cannot believe his eyes. Standing in front of him was Ruto, Sage of Water and Princess of the Zoras. He was now officially freaked out. "Okay," he says, "I must be dreaming."  
  
Princess Ruto says, "This isn't a dream, Vince."  
  
Vincent just says back in a startled voice, "How do you know my name?!? How is this even possible that I'm here?!? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?"  
  
Ruto says, "Calm down, Vince, I am…"  
  
"I know, your Ruto, the Sage of Water and the Princess of the Zoras. But it just isn't possible! I've always thought that you existed, but how? I'm dreaming and there is no other possibility." He takes the dagger end of the staff he found and grabs the blades… then screams out in pain. "Okay, not dreaming!"  
  
"Don't mean to say I told you so, but…"  
  
"Alright, if this isn't a dream, then why am I here?" he asks.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Ruto then begins to talk in a much more serious tone. She says, "At the beginning of time, the 3 golden Goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru, created all things. To commemorate this occasion, they also created the Triforce. The sacred relic contains the essence of the 3 Goddesses. What we only found out recently though was that they also imbued 2 Sacred items and the one Chosen to be the Savior of Worlds with great power. One is that staff, known as the Elemental Staff, another is the Elemental Cuirass, and the last… is you. You are the Savior of Worlds, the one Chosen to defend all worlds against evil." She has a sudden realization. "I guess that was probably a lot to take in all at once, wasn't it?"  
  
All Vincent can do is nod. He says nothing. After becoming lost in thought for about 3 minutes, he finally speaks up. "What about that Elemental Cuirass you were talking about?"  
  
Ruto smiles that he is not completely scared out of his mind after learning his Destiny. "The Elemental Cuirass is a golden relic that is said to shape the elements into different types of armor, depending on the preference of the user."  
  
"Elements? What do you mean, like fire and water? I don't know if you noticed, but I'm a poet, not a Sage."  
  
"True," she says "you are not a Sage, but you are an Elementalist with powers beyond that of a Sage. With that staff and your own powers within you, you can unlock the strength of the elements of Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. But you will need the Elemental Cuirass first."  
  
He takes another couple more minutes to take it all in, and then asks, "So how do I use these powers, and where is this Elemental Cuirass thingy?"  
  
Ruto responds, "You will have to discover how to unlock your powers yourself, Vince, but as for the Elemental Cuirass, that is in Hyrule Castle, being held by Link, the Hero of Time. He is now staying there with the Princess Zelda. They have been waiting to meet you, since you will soon be beginning your journey."  
  
Vincent just has a look of disbelief on his face, but is smiling. He states, "I can't believe this. I'm a character in a video game… there goes the Fourth Wall. Before we go on some big quest, though, can we get something to eat? I'm starving?"  
  
Ruto is puzzled. She asks, "Video game? Fourth Wall? You'll have to explain that stuff to me later. Where would you like to go?"  
  
"Well," he says, "Let's just go to Hyrule Castle… but is there anything there with cheese? I AM the prolific empowerer of all things cheesy tasting!"  
  
Ruto is now even more confused. "You are one strange guy. At least your cute." Vincent swallows hard as Ruto says, "By the way, there is someone I would like you to meet." She pulls out of the pouch around her waist a small fairy… passed out.  
  
"Ummmm… okaaaay…" Vincent says. The fairy is about 4-5 inches tall, with blue hair and wings. She is wearing a blue leather vest and skirt.  
  
"This… is… Satyr… your fairy partner." Ruto says with dismay at seeing the small creature unconscious.  
  
"Fairy partner? Is she drunk?"  
  
"Yep. But don't hold it against her, she is a good friend of mine."  
  
"It's alright, I'm Irish. I know all about drinking parties and stuff like that."  
  
Ruto just looks up from staring at the pixie to Vincent and says, "No party, she always drinks like this. Usually with Darunia. They're 'drinking buddies'."  
  
Vincent says, "Why does it not surprise me that he is a drinker?" Remembering his hunger, he asks, "Shall we go? We can talk about the whole 'Fourth Wall' thing while we eat. I guess we should also talk about the fact that you think I'm 'cute'. Don't be embarrassed though that I noticed, the feeling is mutual."  
  
Ruto starts to blush as all 3 of them are transported away by the blue light. As they begin to disappear, Vincent asks, "Couldn't we just have walked?!?"  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
They are now in the court of Princess Zelda, having rested for the night and eating in the castle. It is a large room with a throne fit for a queen at the back wall. The throne is tall and made of red fabric and gold. At the highest point on the throne is the symbol of the Triforce.  
  
Satyr is just now waking up. She looks up at Ruto and says, "Where are we? My head hurts… no more drinking, I promise this time." She pulls a small liquor bottle out of the small pouch on her belt and takes a drink, then quickly puts it away. She asks, "Who's the beatnik?"  
  
Vincent is now visibly very angry. "I'm a poet. Not a beatnik. If you value your life, Shorty, you'll remember that."  
  
"Who's short? You're just to damn tall! I'm actually a good size for a fairy."  
  
"Your still short. And you're an alcoholic" he fires back.  
  
"HEY!" she says with what seems like forced enthusiasm, "Alcoholics go to meetings. I'M a drunk!"  
  
Ruto interrupts, "Hey you two, Zelda and Link are here! Quiet down."  
  
Walking into the room from the chambers behind the throne is Princess Zelda, escorted by a small army of soldiers for protection. Stand alongside her is a man about Vincent's age, wearing green clothing.  
  
"Link… wow… this is so cool" Vincent says.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
After a while of getting acquainted, Vincent asks, "Well, where is this Elemental Cuirass I have been hearing so much about?"  
  
Zelda responds, "Before we can just give it to you, we have to make sure you can use it."  
  
Link says, "How are you with handling a sword?"  
  
Vincent says back with a puzzled look on his face, "Not bad, but what does that have to do with me being able to use the cuirass?"  
  
Zelda says, "Well, with the power unlocked with the joining of the Savior of Worlds and the Sacred items, you will be able to use armor created out of each of the elements. While wearing one of those armors, you will be able to create and manipulate the elements to your whim. All you have to do is create a sword and make sure you can control it."  
  
"Okay, so what is the test?"  
  
Link steps forward and proclaims, "Me. You will spar with me to make sure you can use your power to it's highest potential."  
  
Rather than be frightened by this proposal, Vincent is excited. "AEWSOME! I get to spar with one of the greatest swordsmen in existence? This is great, but do you think I could get a change of clothes? If I'm actually going to do this, I want to fit in."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Moments later, they are all outside the castle, Satyr sitting on Vincent's shoulder. Vincent is still wearing his hat, boots, and glasses, but has made a few changes to his attire as well. He is now wearing a white tunic with black tights and a long sleeve white shirt. Around his waist is a black belt with a leather pouch on his right side. He has taken off the sunglasses attachment on his glasses so he can see better. On his hands, he is now wearing what resembles Link's Golden Gauntlets. And then there is the Elemental Cuirass on his chest. The cuirass is made of gold and has the Triforce emblazoned on it.  
  
"Okay," Vincent says holding the staff at a ready position " so when do we start?"  
  
Satyr says in a sarcastic tone, "As soon as you can conjure up a weapon to fight with, genius!"  
  
"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"  
  
Zelda says, "Try activating one of your armors. I'm not exactly sure how you are supposed to do that, but you might as well try concentrating hard at doing it. That's all I can suggest."  
  
"Just try thinking of the Earth. Maybe that will help" Ruto says.  
  
Vincent stands perfectly still with his eyes closed. He thinks of mountains and canyons, and of hills and the ground itself.  
  
Satyr pulls out her liquor bottle and takes a drink. She says, "This is going to take a while. Wake me when something happens."  
  
As she says this, there is a strange flash of light and she is knocked off of Vincent's shoulder. When she looks up, he is now encased in Earth colored, thin plated armor from the neck down. His head is unarmored, but somehow the armor seems complete.  
  
"Whoa" Satyr says with a sound of surprise in her voice. "I guess I'm eating my words now. But you still haven't made a sword."  
  
Link looks at Vincent with a grin on his face as he says, "To tell you the truth, I didn't think he would be able to it on his first try. It's possible that creating a saber isn't too huge a task after all."  
  
Ruto says with a huge smile on her face, "I knew you could do it, Vince!" She runs over and embraces him.  
  
"Uh, Ruto… ah, what the hell!" He then hugs her back. They are held in that position for quite a while before Satyr finally breaks the silence.  
  
"Get a room, you two! You're making me sick!" the fairy says.  
  
Ruto and Vincent break apart quickly as both Zelda and Link start laughing at Satyr's comment. Zelda, still trying to hold back her laughter, says, "Are you going to create a sword any time today, Vince?"  
  
"Actually," he says, "I don't think I need one! This armor is made of solid rock! I could just punch him!"  
  
"Just make the blade already! We're trying to see if you can use the power of each of the armors, not punch me," Link says, getting impatient.  
  
"Alright already!" Vincent starts to go into a trance again. This time, he thinks of the minerals deep within the Earth. Steel and gold start forming themselves into a golden blade and silver guard. The hilt of the sword is shaped out of wood. When he opens his eyes, he sees this all taking place in his outspread hands. When the events have finished taking place, he has the sword he envisioned floating before him. He takes it and clenches the handle in his right fist.  
  
"Wow…" is all any of the others are able to say as they see this. They are completely shocked at this amateur's great display of magic.  
  
Link is the first one to speak, "Well, I have to say I am even more impressed now. Let's see if you can control it."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
They are now both in a fighter's stance on the drawbridge of Hyrule Castle. Vincent has his staff sheathed in a leather sheath on his back. He says, "Okay, this calls for some fight music!" He takes out the Tek that is now in his pouch on his belt, and scrolls through his music collection. After scrolling for a while, he says, "Here's the one!" Seconds later, the Final Fantasy 9 fight music is playing.  
  
Link, Zelda, Ruto, and Satyr all say in unison, "What the hell is that?"  
  
Vincent says, "I'll explain later. Right now, we have to take care of this."  
  
He charges at Link. The Hylian hero sidesteps and Vincent stops just before the edge of the bridge. He turns around and the two of them clash blades. Vincent takes his blade and makes a sideswipe at Link's left side, but is blocked by his opponent's sword. Link pushes up with it and knocks Vincent backwards. Vincent lands with a loud thud inches from the end of the bridge.  
  
Link gives him a hand to help him up. "Maybe it's time to try out one of your other armors.  
  
Satyr says, "How about Fire. Fire is good…" All the while she has an evil grin on her face. Ruto, who has the tiny person on her shoulder, just shakes her head.  
  
"With your high blood alcohol level, you would be incinerated if you got anywhere near him!"  
  
Without a second thought, Vincent activates the Fire elemental armor. It looks exactly like the Earth armor, only it is a blend of shades of red. With the newly activated armor on, he engulfs the sword he is wielding in flames. Even though it is burning, the heat does not harm him.  
  
Zelda says, "That's enough. We know that you can control the Fire armor, and Link probably doesn't want to be completely scorched, so try another armor. I believe each of the armors has their own unique abilities. As you saw, the Earth armor is solid rock, which makes it extremely powerful. Since the heat didn't burn you when you ignited the sword, I'm thinking that the Fire armor has the ability to withstand great heat."  
  
Vincent asks, "What about the other ones?"  
  
She says, "Not sure yet. Now just go ahead and activate the Wind armor."  
  
So, he closes his eyes and begins concentrating on the element of the Wind. He can feel a cool breeze across his face. After a short time, he begins to feel lighter than the air itself. A voice wakes him from this state.  
  
"Okay, is it just me, or is the beatnik floating. This stuff has got me seeing things…" Satyr says. Sure enough, with the light green Wind armor activated, Vincent has taken to the skies.  
  
He swoops down, and the gust of wind following him knocks Satyr off Ruto's shoulder. Vincent lands, looks down at the fairy, and says, "I'm not a beatnik."  
  
Satyr is rubbing her head from the fall as she says, "I'm guessing that the Wind armor has the power of flight…"  
  
"Okay, get ready!" Link says as he makes a downward slash towards his sparring partner. Seeing him coming, Vincent Wolf blocks the attack with his own sword. With the slash he makes, there is a gust great enough to send Link flying. He goes sailing and just barely grabs the edge of the bridge. Pulling himself back up, he says, "Let's not do that again. Maybe we should see if you can do something with the Water armor?"  
  
Ruto says, "Sounds great! I've been waiting to see this!"  
  
Vincent still can't believe that he is standing here doing what he is doing. He was in Hyrule, the location of his favorite video game series of all time. It was obvious that this would take some getting used to.  
  
"Well," he says, "if that is what you were waiting for, I'm definitely going to deliver!" This time, it only takes a mere moment to activate the new armor. The Water armor is blue. Ruto is clapping with a big smile on her face.  
  
"Yay!" she says with cheer in her voice.  
  
"Let's see what this armor can do!" Vincent says as he points the sword at Link. Just as he does this, a large pillar of water gushes forth and pushes Link right into the water below the bridge. The Hylian is very angered by this.  
  
"THAT'S IT! NOW I'M MAD!" Link jumps back up to the bridge and rushes at Vincent. He jumps up in the air and kicks the human into the water on the other side.  
  
Zelda looks at Link with astonishment. "Why did you do that? The water over there is way to deep for him to just stand up in!"  
  
Link looks at the princess with a sorry look on his face. "He could have changed into the Earth armor and weighed himself down, maybe even make a shield. Besides, he knocked me into the water first…"  
  
Ruto looks down at the water below with fear as she yells out, "VINCE!" Moments later, she dives in to look for him. In a short time, she finds him just lying down on the bottom of the moat as if nothing had happened. She grabs him by the collar and drags him up. When they get to the surface, everyone is waiting for them. Ruto looks at him with an angry look on her face. "DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" With a much more loving tone, she says, "I was so worried…" She hugs him tightly.  
  
Vince looks at this display of affection from the Zora princess. He says, "It's alright. The Water armor allowed me to breathe down there freely." He hugs her back to console her.  
  
Zelda, Link, and Satyr look at the two in the water. "Aw, how cute!" all 3 of them say in unison to tease them. This time it doesn't matter though. The princess of the Zoras and the Savior of Worlds are too distracted to care.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
His armor deactivated, Vincent is now dried off, sitting in the dining room of Hyrule Castle. Sitting there next to him is Ruto. At the head of the table sits Zelda, with Link sitting beside her. Satyr is sitting on top of Vincent's shoulder. He has just finished explaining to the others the concept of the Fourth Wall, and about technology. Including video games.  
  
"So let me get this straight," Zelda says, "you are from a place called Earth, which is on the other side of the Fourth Wall, where Hyrule is seen only in the form of games? That is really confusing…"  
  
Vincent nods, "If you think you're confused, just put yourself in my shoes."  
  
Link says, "I know what you are talking about. I personally would hate it if I were pulled from my home, but we had no other choice."  
  
"I didn't say I hated this" Vincent says. "But, you guy's haven't really explained why I was brought here, yet."  
  
The entire room goes completely silent. Ruto looks down and starts to cry. She says, "Ganondorf escaped from the Sacred Realm. Zora's Domain was taken over by his forces. My father… is…he's…" She erupts into tears.  
  
Vincent tries to console her, but it seems that no words could possibly reach her right now.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
A/N: Well, here we are. I know, I ended it on kind of a sad note, but overall it was a good chapter I think. What do you think? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I have some good ideas for it. Please review at the sound of the tone. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! 


	3. The Three Warriors

The Three Warriors  
  
Not much to say this time. Quit cheering. I own Vincent Wolf, the story, and Satyr the fairy (Pronounced 'satire'). Anything else right now is belonging to someone else. I am borrowing it. Anyone MiSting this should know that a 'Borrowers' riff is waaay too obvious right now. Just think of something else. And don't say that I'm stealing it either. That will upset me. On with the story.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
It has been nearly a month since Vincent Wolf, Savior of Worlds, has entered the world of Hyrule. He has been training nearly nonstop, only taking time off to tell his new friends about his world and to eat and sleep. Also, he and Ruto have grown a lot closer. They have had dates and toured much of Hyrule together. Needless to say, they have been nearly impossible to separate from eachother.  
  
The day has finally come when Vincent must face his Destiny. Him, Link, and Satyr are outside Hyrule Castle looking in the direction of Zora's Domain. After a while of just looking on, Satyr says, "I'm not really feeling up to this. I'm sick."  
  
Link says, "Yeah, right. Why do I get the feeling you're faking it?"  
  
Satyr shoots back, "No, really! My lungs are filled with green gooberness! I can barely breathe!" She begins to hack and cough and wheeze. "See?"  
  
Vincent starts to laugh, "My little sister Megan used to do that when she was younger. Now I know you're faking it. You're coming. You wouldn't be my fairy partner if you didn't."  
  
Satyr lifts off his shoulder that she is sitting on and starts to fly towards the castle. "Seeya! I guess I'm going to have to look for a lower risk job. If you think I'm going to face off with that much evil, you can forget it!"  
  
Vincent says, "That much evil? It's not like they have the AFLAC duck on their side!"  
  
Satyr has a confused look on her face, and is shocked when Zelda, who is walking alongside Ruto, snatches her out of the air. They are walking towards Vincent and Link. Zelda is still wearing her dress, but Ruto is now dressed in leather armor similar to an archer's. She breaks the silence that commences after Vincent's jaw drops when seeing her attire.  
  
"You didn't think I'd let you go and fight the guy that killed my father alone now, did you?"  
  
Vincent says, "Even if I said no, you would come along anyway, wouldn't you?"  
  
She nods, "I have a score to settle with Ganondorf, and I also want to be there when you have to leav…"  
  
Zelda cuts her off, "Well, let's go!"  
  
Vincent has a confused look on his face, "Ruto, what were you going to…"  
  
Zelda shoots Link a look and he interrupts, "Zelda, why are you coming?"  
  
She says, "I thought you guys might want me to help you out with my magic."  
  
Satyr, still in Zelda's hand, yells, "Okay, I get the point! Will you let me go?" Zelda lets her go and she flies over to Vincent's shoulder.  
  
Vincent walks over to Ruto and says, "Don't worry. I'll get that bastard back for killing your father. I practiced all night using my power, so I'm thinking that this will go smoothly."  
  
Link says, We're going to have to use the secret entrance at Lake Hylia to get in to Zora's Domain."  
  
With that, they all head off towards the lake.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
When they get there, they find the area in ruins. The water is completely drained from the lake and both the lab and fishing pond have been leveled. All over the place there is monsters of many types. Even though it is still morning, the sky has darkened to a shade that almost seems as if it is drawing them in.  
  
"Whoa," Vincent says. This is his first time actually seeing monsters in real life, so needless to say, he is a little nervous. On the island where the Water Temple is, there is a very large beast, which seems to be part horse and part warrior, "is that a centaur?"  
  
Ruto looks on in horror, "That is Knight Mare, the general of Ganondorf's army." All around the monster is stalfos guards. "If we want to get to the entrance, we may already have to fight."  
  
Link says with a grin on his face as he unsheathes his sword, "The odds are a thousand to one. I don't see a problem."  
  
"That's because you've done this before. Vincent hasn't ever had to face anything like this" Zelda says.  
  
"Hey," Vincent says, "I've done this in the games before, so I'm hoping that these guys aren't more powerful than that. Because if they are only as good as they are in the game, I'm pretty sure I can handle this."  
  
Satyr says, "You do realize you are going to die, don't you?"  
  
"Quiet, Tinkerbell," he says back.  
  
Link is now really losing his patience. "Are we going to fight or talk about it all day?" He runs in and engages a nearby lizalfos in battle. Moments later, Vincent enters the fray, followed by Ruto, Zelda, and finally, Satyr. As they get into the battle, Link has already vanquished the lizalfos he was fighting and frozen a few more with his Ice arrows.  
  
Vincent activates his Fire armor and ignites his staff in flames. With it, he completely obliterates 4 stalfos in one swing. Zelda is using magic blasts on several more. Ruto starts to fire balls of blue energy at other monsters in the area. Soon, all the creatures that weren't on the island are destroyed.  
  
All the while, Knight Mare is looking on with a devilish grin on his face. With a flick of his wrist, a sword enveloped in black flames erupts from the ground and he grabs it in his hand. Then, with a sickening howl, he yells, "CHARGE THE FOOLS WHO OPPOSE MASTER GANONDORF!" With this, he and the heavily armed stalfos surrounding him charge towards the heroes.  
  
Every time anyone gets close to the terrifying monster, he just knocks them back into the stalfos. All the heroes are able to do is fight the skeleton warriors. Eventually, Vincent makes his hay over to Knight Mare and activates his Earth armor.  
  
Knight Mare looks down at the Savior of Worlds with an evil grin sprawling across his face, "You are quite strong, little man. I can't believe that a mere beatnik was able to make it this far, but now you die."  
  
Satyr just shakes her head, "He called him a beatnik. The horse-man is screwed."  
  
Sure enough, Vincent is in a boiling rage, "I am NOT a BEATNIK!" He begins to pummel the centaur with his fists alone, bloodying him till he is almost completely crimson.  
  
Just as Vincent is a bout to finish him off, Knight Mare gets a second wind, and brings his sword down. Not seeing this, Vincent just keeps on punching.  
  
As the black flames of the blade draw ever closer to Vincent, Ruto sees it. With a pillar of water, she knocks the sword out of the monster's hand. With his only weapon gone, the dark general collapses and disintegrates into dust.  
  
All of the heroes fall down from exhaustion, and decide to rest before they head towards Zora's Domain.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
When they are finally ready, they walk through the hole that leads to Zora's Domain. But, when they get there, it is sealed of at the end. "Great, now what are we supposed to do? I don't have any bombs," Link says with dismay.  
  
Satyr gets an idea, "Vinnieboy, activate your Earth armor."  
  
"I think I get what you're saying," he says as he activates his Earth armor and steps towards the sealed entrance, "and don't call me Vinnieboy."  
  
He holds his hands against the wall covering the entrance, and it shatters after a few moments. In shock, Vincent looks up at his fairy partner and says, "Wow, you are good for something besides getting drunk." She shrugs, and takes her bottle of liquor and takes a drink.  
  
The heroes walk through the entrance, and are face to face with many redeads and stalfos. Up in the air, there is what looks to be like one keese. Zelda holds out her hands and forms a ball of energy, "Time to get to work!" She throws the ball and completely annihilates around 13 or so of the monsters.  
  
Link runs up to a group of about 15 redeads and slices the first 2 right in half. He runs forward and decapitates 6 more with 2 slashes of his sword. The next 3 he comes up to he runs through with one long thrust. Then he sets his sights on the 4 that are left. First, he slices off the legs of 3 of the redeads. Picking up one of the legs, he smashes the skulls in of the 3 zombie-like creatures. The last one tries to get away, but is stopped dead in his tracks by a downward slash of Link's sword. In a second, both halves of the creature hit the ground with a thud.  
  
Satyr flies up to what at the time, she thought was a keese. But when she gets up there with her dagger drawn, she finds that it is actually a black fairy. The black fairy rushes Satyr with her dagger and barely misses as Satyr dodges. They both clash blades and the black fairy pushes Satyr back. Satyr flies back and kicks the other fairy in the side of the jaw. As Ganondorf's minion falls, Satyr takes her blade and rams it through her heart. Looking down at the fairy falling to the ground, all Satyr says is, "Bitch and takes a drink out of her liquor bottle.  
  
Back down on the ground, Ruto and Vincent are back to back fire Water elemental blasts at the final remaining stalfos. With each blast, more and more of the skeleton soldiers fall to pieces. Vincent runs at one of them and knocks its skull right off of its shoulders. He takes it, and chucks it at the nearest one he can find. Ruto just keeps on blasting them, but soon is warn out by the continued use of magic. She picks up the sword of one of the fallen stalfos and hacks the last 2 to oblivion.  
  
The minions are all now destroyed, but as the heroes regroup, they realize that their greatest challenge is yet to come. They then head towards the throne room of Zora's Domain.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
When they finally get to the top of the staircase, Ganondorf is waiting there as if nothing has happened so far. With an evil grin on his face, he says, "Ah, it seems I have guests." He begins to float in the air. A ball of energy forms in his hands.  
  
Seeing this, Vincent clicks onto a song on the Tek. As Creed's 'Freedom Fighter' plays in the background, he says, "We end this now… damn, that was cliché. But, I guess if it works, use it."  
  
Vincent activates his Fire armor as the energy ball is thrown at him. He puts his hands in front of him and the attack is distinguished. Ganondorf is now drawing a large sword out. "Nice block, kid, but you won't be able to enjoy it for long." He rushes at Vincent and slashes, but the attack is blocked by Link, who is right next to him. "Ah, Link, the one who imprisoned in the Sacred Realm. I've been waiting a long time for this!" He throws another bolt of energy in the direction of Link.  
  
"LINK!" Zelda says as the energy is about to hit him. Just as it nears him, Zelda puts a magical barrier in front of Link and Vincent. The blast rocks it, but doesn't harm the heroes it is protecting.  
  
This whole time, Satyr is passed out in Vincent's pouch on his belt. She hears the fighting, wakes up, and then immediately falls back to sleep.  
  
Vincent and Link both leap forward, Link with his sword drawn, Vincent with his Wind armor activated and his staff held in a slashing position. Link cuts Ganondorf across his chest, and then Vincent slashes with his staff, blowing the King of Evil backward and into the wall. Ruto then starts blasting him repeatedly with Water elemental blasts.  
  
In a bloody mess, Ganondorf stands up and says, "I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED AGAIN!" In a brilliant display, he floats back into the air and begins to spin and glow with dark energy. When it is all over, Ganondorf has completely vanished.  
  
Ruto is furious. "Come back here and fight, you coward!"  
  
Link says, "He isn't one to just run away from a battle. Keep on guard everyone, because he has an ace up his sleeve." Just as he finishes saying this, he is lifted into the air by an unknown force.  
  
"Nice call, but it's not like that is going to help you!" comes Ganondorf's voice. Despite being heard, still nobody is able to see him. With a flash, Link is slammed into a wall. Zelda runs over to him as he falls to the floor.  
  
"And Zelda, let's not forget that you had a hand in my defeat as well." Out of nowhere, vines start to encase both Link and Zelda, attaching them to the wall. Vincent tries to cut them, but they are just too strong. An invisible hand, which he now knew was Ganondorf's, knocks Vincent over the edge of where the waterfall once was, with his armor deactivated. He is barely able to hold himself up, and is struggling to keep from falling.  
  
As Vincent pulls himself back up, he sees a small puddle of water move around near him. Also seeing this, Ruto fires a blast in that direction. With a scream, the spectral villain fires a shot back at her. It hits Ruto hard, and she falls limp near where Link and Zelda lay.  
  
Vincent rushes over to her side. She is alive, but unconscious. With a great amount of anger in his voice he yells, "GANONDORF! COME OUT OF HIDING! If you have any kind of backbone, than FACE ME!"  
  
As he is saying this, he is being surrounded in a white aura. He begins to notice it after a moment. With a loud scream of pain, he slumps over onto his hands and knees. Growing out of his back are two angelic wings also surrounded by the white aura. Slowly, Vincent gets back up to his feet, with his eyes gone completely white.  
  
Ganondorf, sensing a great power, even more powerful than one of the sages, begins to fire energy balls at Vincent. Vincent catches it with his bare hands and crushes it as if it were nothing. Ganondorf tries to escape, but to his surprise, Vincent is now able to see him. A sharp pain is felt in Ganondorf's back as Vincent's staff hits him hard. The same white aura that is surrounding the hero now seems to pour out of Ganondorf's wound. Vincent tries for another attack, but finds he cannot harm him any further.  
  
Ruto, Link, and Zelda, all wake up just in time to see this happening, also able to see Ganondorf now. Ruto uses her magic to break the bonds holding Link and Zelda. Zelda enchants the Master sword like she did the last time they defeated Ganon, and Link runs up and delivers the coup de grace. With a flash of light, the flesh burns off of Ganondorf's bones, and the bones fall to the ground.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Vincent is now completely exhausted, and the white aura has gone. He is on his hands and knees on the ground. Ruto runs up to him and asks, "What was that? How did that happen?"  
  
Vincent responds in a worn out voice, "I don't know how, but if I was to guess what it was, I would say that that was the elemental power of Spirit. I am so tired. Give me minute to rest." With that, he lays back against one of the walls.  
  
Satyr, who was still in his pouch while all of this was happening, comes out and asks, "Did we win?"  
  
Vincent says, "No. We are all dead. Now go back to sleep."  
  
Zelda says, "You know, I think those two are going to get along. They're so much alike."  
  
Both Vincent and Satyr say in unison, "We are not!" They look at eachother, and begin to laugh.  
  
Link says, "I'm glad we had you along, Vince. If we didn't, I wouldn't have been able to finally take care of him once and for all. Thank you."  
  
Vincent says back, "Thank me later. Right now, I think we'll all have a lot of time to rest."  
  
Zelda says with sadness in her voice, "Not exactly. There is more to the legend."  
  
Vincent, confused asks, "What do you mean?"  
  
Ruto says while tears stream down her face, "It means you have to go. You are the Savior of Worlds, not just the Savior of Hyrule."  
  
Zelda takes over. "The next part of the prophecy says, 'After the King of Evil has been vanquished, the Savior of Worlds shall be guided to another place by three warriors from his past.'"  
  
Vincent asks, "So what does that mean?"  
  
No sooner than he asks this, a strange green hole in space opens up behind them. Out of it walk 3 armored figures. The first is big, wearing red armor with black trim. Then next is tall, wearing black armor with red trim. The last is medium build, wearing silver armor with gold trim.  
  
The one in red armor looks around, holds up a map, and smacks the one in silver in the back of the head, "I told you, Wolf! LEFT turn at Neo Earth! We're supposed to be in Mobius! And that was the wrong Neo Earth to begin with! It's a different reality than the Arcadian one."  
  
"Sorry!" he says back. "I wanted to go to Hyrule. It's better than Mobius!"  
  
The one in the black armor says, "I agree. Mike, let's stay here. Mobius sucks. I hate Sega."  
  
"Quiet, Jason! This isn't even the Arcadian Hyrule! Who the hell is the guy with the wings?"  
  
"I don't know," the silver armored one says, "but he sure does look familiar."  
  
"Oh, well. Let's get out of here," the one in red says as all three of them go back to the portal.  
  
As they walk through, the one in silver says, "Are you sure we can't stay for a while? That Princess Ruto is HOT!" With that, they vanish through the portal.  
  
Satyr looks at Vincent and says, "Okay, that was strange. Why didn't you kill that guy for making that comment about Ruto?"  
  
Vincent smiles as he says, "1, he was right about her. 2, those are the three warriors. 3, I have something against killing myself."  
  
Zelda asks, "What do you mean 'yourself'?"  
  
Vincent says, "If my guess is correct, those three are characters from a story that my friend Mike Allen wrote. The one in the silver armor is the character based on me. So therefore, I think that since they exist, I am also a character being written about. There is only one way to be sure, though."  
  
He takes out the Tek and logs on to the internet. Typing in the name 'Vincent Wolf' on 'fanfiction.net', he finds a story called 'Destiny's Chosen', and begins to read it. In a moment, he looks up from the screen and says, "It's a story about what has happened so far! I guess it makes sense. This guy writing this is me, but from another dimension. This is hard to believe, but I am what is called an 'SI'."  
  
Link asks, "What's an SI?"  
  
Vincent says, "It is a character in a fanfiction that is based on the author. What the author doesn't know is that the characters actually exist, but in other dimensions. It is their latent psionic abilities that allow them too see into these other dimensions, separated by the Fourth Wall, and write about what they see."  
  
Ruto says, "So what you're saying is, we don't really exist? We're just some characters in a story?"  
  
"No. In fact, seeing them confirms just the opposite. If they exist, then I must exist as well" he says.  
  
Satyr says, "Well in case you haven't noticed, that wormhole thing is still open. What are we going to do?"  
  
Link says, "I guess we go through it."  
  
Ruto is puzzled, "We? But only Vince is supposed to go. Satyr is supposed to go too, since she is his fairy partner, but we aren't part of the legend."  
  
Link laughs, "Since Ganondorf is gone now, Hyrule is safe. There isn't any reason for me to stay. I'm going because I don't want to be bored living in a castle for the rest of my life. Besides, I think Vince could use a 'best friend' on his journey!"  
  
Vincent shakes Link's hand, "Thanks, Link."  
  
Zelda turns red. "If that's the way you feel, I'm going too! There is no way I'm staying in Hyrule Castle alone!"  
  
Ruto smiles, "If you think you're going to get rid of me that easy, think again. I'm going too!" She runs over and hugs Vincent.  
  
Vincent says, "Then what are we waiting for? LET'S GO, EVERYBODY!"  
  
Together, Vincent, Ruto, Link, and Zelda run through the portal. Satyr takes a drink and says, "I must be crazy. Wait up!" She then runs into the portal and vanishes with a flash.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
All five of them are standing in what looks to be like a futuristic city. In the air, there are hovering cars. All over the place, there are tall futuristic buildings. The heroes are in awe.  
  
Ruto is the first one to speak, "Is this that Neo Earth they were talking about?"  
  
Vincent says, "I guess so. I haven't personally seen it up close, so I wouldn't know for sure. I've only seen it in video games."  
  
"Well," Zelda asks, "since you are the only person that seems to know anything about this place, what should we do?"  
  
Vincent responds, "The games that Neo Earth appear in are a part of a series, called 'Megaman'. In the video game series, a scientist named Dr. Light created robots, which are like people, only mechanical. An evil scientist named Dr. Wily created evil robots, while Light made good ones to combat him. One of them was named Megaman. I think we should go to find Dr. Light and his laboratory."  
  
Satyr asks, "Okay, so how do we find him?"  
  
Vincent says, "Well, I assume they still have phonebooks, but odds are they are on computer now. So, let's check that computer over there."  
  
On the side of the building, there is a computer that looks somewhat like an ATM machine. Vincent types up a search for the name 'Light'. A list of names pops up, and when he finally finds the name he is looking for he gasps in shock.  
  
Ruto asks, "What does it say, Vince?"  
  
He just says in a soft tone of voice, since he is still in shock, "I found the name, but…" He points to the name on the list.  
  
Highlighted on the screen in plain bold lettering is the name Doctor Michael Allen Light.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
A/N: Muahaha! There is the second chapter. Not too much to say, other than, that isn't the only surprise there is going to be. All I have to say is, keep an open mind about it. HAVE A NICE DAY! 


	4. Reunions

Reunions  
  
Okay, I think I've gone through this legal junk enough already. You guys know who owns what.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Vincent looks around a little bit more for an address and map of the city. He tries to hook the Tek up to the computer, but finds that it was busted in the fight with Ganondorf. After a while, he finally finds out exactly where his old friend's laboratory is. "Okay, I've got it!"  
  
Nobody's listening. Everyone else is just amazed by their surroundings. None of them have ever seen anything like this. True, neither had Vincent, but he at least had seen technology from his era. His friends have lived in more primitive setting their entire lives.  
  
Vincent elects to not bother them and tries to activate his Wind armor so he can get a bird's eye view of the area. To his surprise, he finds that he is not able to do it. Just to make sure, he tries activating his Fire armor, and it works. He notices that the wings that grew when the elemental power of Spirit was unlocked are still there. "Hey, do you guys think these wings actually work? The Wind armor seems to be gone now, so they are my only other option."  
  
Link looks over to Vincent and says, "I guess it's worth a try."  
  
Vincent spreads his wings and moves them around experimentally. When he is pretty sure he has the technique down, he says, "I'm going to try it now."  
  
Everyone gets a little closer to him. Ruto says, "Don't worry, we'll catch you if you fall."  
  
Satyr looks at Ruto and says, "Speak for yourself! I'm going up with him so I can laugh at him while he falls!"  
  
After a short time, Vincent and Satyr have ascended into the air. Vincent is looking down and says, "I think I see it. Let's go back down."  
  
Satyr laughs at him and says, "What, afraid of heights?"  
  
Vincent shoots back, "Are you forgetting that I was able to fly with the Wind armor?"  
  
Satyr says, "Fine, whatever! Let's just go!"  
  
Back down on the ground, Vincent says, "I'm glad that these wings work, because apparently the rest of my powers are sapped after being used a little too much. When we finally get to Dr. Light's lab, we've got to rest a while."  
  
Zelda asks, "So you were able to see it?"  
  
"Yeah. Let's go, it's this way" and they all follow Vincent in the direction that he is walking, still taking in the sights as they go.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
In a small workroom, Dr. Light is working on some invention. Roll walks into the room and says, "Dr. Light, there is somebody here to see you. He says he knew you years ago.  
  
Dr. Light, still not looking up from his work, says, "I wonder who it could be. Send him in, Roll."  
  
Roll says, "He has some friends with him. Should I have them come in, too?"  
  
"Well, I guess so. How many are there?"  
  
"There's five of them."  
  
"Okay, I guess there's enough room in here."  
  
Roll leaves and comes back with Vincent, Ruto, Satyr, Link, and Zelda. Dr. Light still isn't looking up from his work.  
  
Vincent speaks first. "Are you Dr. Michael Allen Light?"  
  
"Yes, I am. May I ask your name? You sound familiar, but this is delicate work, and I can't really stop" the doctor says.  
  
"Does the name 'Vincent Wolf' sound familiar?" he asks.  
  
Dr. Light drops his tool that he has in his hand, and it falls to the ground. He looks up and at Vincent's face. "Vince?"  
  
"Yeah," Vincent says, "it's me, Mike."  
  
"But, I thought you were dead! And why are you still young?!?"  
  
"It's a long story, so I guess we should find a good place to sit down."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
As they are walking down a hallway, Vincent is telling Dr. Light about everything that has happened so far (It took him a little longer to explain the wings). When they pass by this one door, Vincent hears a familiar guitar number coming from inside, accompanied by a bass and a keyboard. Vincent says, "That sounds like 'The Beer Song'! Is Jason in there?"  
  
Dr. Light looks a little nervous as he says, "I… guess you could say that…"  
  
Vincent rushes into the room and sees Megaman, Protoman, and Bass. Megaman is playing a bass guitar, Protoman is playing on a keyboard, and Bass is playing the guitar that he heard. All 3 bots stop playing and look up at Vincent. Vincent looks around the room and asks, "Alright, where's Jason?"  
  
Dr. Light says, "Well… seeing as how you are familiar with the games, do you know about Bass?"  
  
Vincent says, "Yeah, he was a bot created by Wily to be a perfect match for Megaman, but you guys eventually defeat him and reprogram him. Why?"  
  
"When we defeated him, we needed some new brain patterns to download into him, so I used Jason's."  
  
"Then where is the real Jason?"  
  
"Jason died years ago. Bass here is now what you would call the 'real' Jason."  
  
Vincent walks over to Bass and says, "It's nice to see you again, Jas…"  
  
Before Vincent can finish what he is saying, Bass knees him in the crotch. As Satyr laughs and Vincent holds himself in pain, Bass says, "Now we're even! Did you think I wouldn't remember when you did that to me? And by the way, it's 'Bass' now. I like that name better than Jason."  
  
"Gotcha…" is all Vincent says.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Everyone is now sitting at a large table in a dining room. Roll has brought lots of food and set it before Dr. Light, Vincent, Link, Ruto, Zelda, and Satyr. Dr. Light, Vincent, and Link are each having chicken, Ruto is eating fish, and Zelda and Satyr are eating salad. Vincent has finished telling everyone about what he thinks is going on.  
  
Megaman speaks up, "So you are some guy that was a friend of the doc's and Bass' when you guys were younger? If that's true, then why are you still younger, and the doc has gotten so old?"  
  
Roll says, "Hey, leave Dr. Light alone!"  
  
"Sorry, sis." Megaman says, "I didn't mean for it to come out like that. But why are you still young, Mr. Wolf?"  
  
Vincent says, "Please, just call me either Vincent or Vince. Well, the only thing I can guess is that different worlds move at a different pace of time. I was in Hyrule for only a month, but many years passed here while I was gone. Does that make sense to everyone?"  
  
Satyr says, "No, but that's alright."  
  
Everyone starts laughing and then Vincent gets a thought. He asks, "Hey, Doc. If you are still alive, then how about everybody else? Like my family?  
  
The bots and Dr. Light stop laughing, and soon after, so does everyone else. Dr. Light says, "I'm sorry, Vince, but…"  
  
Vincent cuts him short, "It's alright. I didn't really expect too much. My dad's dead though, right?"  
  
Light begins to chuckle a little bit, "Yeah, thank heavens!"  
  
Vincent, Bass, and Light laugh, but everyone else looks at them like they've lost their minds. Ruto smacks Vincent in the back of the head, "My father is dead, and you laugh about yours? What's wrong with you?"  
  
Vincent looks at her and says, "My dad was a deadbeat. He nearly killed my mom, he beat me as a child, AND he drank more than Satyr!"  
  
Satyr, who is drinking out of a large liquor bottle as he says this, stops and says, "Hey, I don't drink that much!" Then she goes head first drinking out of the bottle again. After a few moments, she falls in. Everyone in the room starts laughing as Roll tries to get her out.  
  
After she is finally out of the bottle, completely passed out, Protoman says, "Vince, Bass here used to tell me that you play drums. We've been trying to get Roll to learn, but she really has no interest in it. Since you are probably going to be staying for a while, how would you like to jam with us sometime?"  
  
"Oh HELL yeah!" Vincent says, "That would be awesome! As if meeting some of my favorite video game characters wasn't enough, I get to play drums with you guys too! If this is a dream, I hope it never ends!"  
  
Dr. Light says, "Well, now that everyone has gotten acquainted, how about we get some rest? It's getting pretty late, and we need to find some way to keep your wings concealed in public. We'll figure that out tomorrow, though. Roll, set up some of the empty rooms for our friends." He sniffs the air, "Maybe you guys should bathe. That fight you told me about still has its smell about you."  
  
Vincent, Ruto, Link, and Zelda laugh. Link says, "I guess you're right!"  
  
Zelda yawns and says, "And that whole rest thing doesn't sound like a bad idea, either."  
  
Dr. Light says, "I'll have Roll show you all to the washroom. The rest of you bots can recharge for the night."  
  
Vincent reaches into his pouch and pulls out the Tek. He says, "This broke during our fight with Ganondorf. Any chance you would be able to fix it?"  
  
Dr. Light takes it, "I'll do more than that! I'll make it better! Now get some rest. Tomorrow we'll find some way for you to conceal those wings."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
The next morning, Vincent is in a room with Dr. Light, Bass, Ruto, and Satyr. Dr. Light is fiddling around with some tools and stuff.  
  
"So," Bass says, "you're some sort of wizard or something now?"  
  
Vincent responds, "Not really. I'm more of a fighter that can use magic."  
  
Satyr speaks up, "But he didn't even beat Ganondorf! Link had to do that!"  
  
Ruto shoots a look over at Satyr and says, "He did just fine! It was his first major battle, and if we didn't have him there, we would've lost!"  
  
Bass smirks, "The way you defend him, I'd swear you two were boyfriend and girlfriend."  
  
Ruto blushes. Vincent says, "We've gone out a few times, but we're really just really good friends." After hearing this, Ruto looks a little down. Vincent asks, "What's wrong, Ruto?"  
  
Ruto looks up at him and says, "Oh, nothing…"  
  
Vincent is about to say something back, when Dr. Light sets down his tools and walks over to him. "Finished" he says as he hands a watch like object to Vincent. He says, "This should cloak your wings when you press this button here while wearing it."  
  
Vincent straps it on and presses the button. In a second, the wings seem to vanish. "That was awesome, Doc! Have you been able to fix the Tek yet, though?"  
  
Dr. Light points to another few buttons on the object and says, "Those buttons will control a hologram version of the Tek. I wasn't able to get the internet back on there, but I was able to put a location sensing device in there, which should be able to tell you where you are at any given time, no matter where you are."  
  
Vincent starts pressing some of the buttons and starts to play 'Black and White' by Static-X. He says, "This is great! Let's check the rest out." He opens up the locator. On a pop-up hologram comes a map that says 'Neo Earth: Neo Chicago: Dr. Light's Laboratory.' "Okay, everything seems to be working" he says.  
  
Satyr flies over to Dr. Light's shoulder and says, "Hey, Doc. I've been meaning to ask. What was that thing you were working on when we first got here?"  
  
Vincent looks up from the watch and says, "Yeah, I was wondering that too."  
  
Bass responds, "He was working on a new bot. After those 3 other guys came here, he decided to study that rift they left. He thought that he might be able to make a bot that control them. Just in case I also created a hand held rift opening device."  
  
Vincent asks, "Cool. So how is that going?"  
  
Dr. Light looks over to where the dormant bot lays. The bot is a deep, dark purple and light blue. Other than that, he looks very similar to Bass. "He will be able to use the power, but the problem is, his personality is lacking the same social skills that the other hero bots have."  
  
Satyr starts to laugh and says, "So what your saying is, he doesn't play well with others? HAHAHAHAHA!"  
  
Bass says, "No. He's a loner. We had him running for a short time, but he didn't want to cooperate with us. We had to shut him down."  
  
Vincent walks over to the bot lying on the table. "Maybe all he needs is to trust us…"  
  
Ruto walks over to him and says, "I think your right, Vince."  
  
Now Dr. Light, Satyr, and Bass walk over and join them. Dr. Light says, "Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out." He walks over to a control panel and starts typing on it as he says, "We have to bring him back online."  
  
Vincent looks down at the bot again and asks, "Before you do, can you tell me his name?" Dr. Light looks back to see that Link, Megaman, Protoman, and Roll are all standing at the door.  
  
"I guess you can call him Shift," he says looking back at Vincent. With one last press of a button, Shift begins to move a little.  
  
In a moment, he opens up his eyes and looks around. When he sees Dr. Light, he says, "I was wondering when you were going to wake me back up. I guess it's normal that you would just forget about something that was of no use to you. This is why I don't like working alongside any of you." Without saying anymore, he stands up and leaves the room. Megaman watches him walk into the music room and slam the door.  
  
He says, "Well, at least he's in a better mood than he was the last time you woke him up."  
  
Vincent walks towards the door and says, "I'm going to go and talk to him." Bass is already out the door.  
  
"I'll talk to him," Bass says looking back.  
  
Vincent looks back at everyone else and says, "You guys all stay here. Me and Bass can handle it." With that, he walks into the music room.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
In his secret laboratory, Dr. Wily is looking at some blueprints and notes standing in front of a huge device of some sort. He walks over to a small table where a pile of what appears to be very old looking comics sits. Picking up one of the top ones, he laughs maniacally. Flipping through the pages, he lands on a picture of a very obese looking man with a mechanical arm and a long red mustache.  
  
He yells out a nearby door, "RIFTMAN! Get over here! I'm ready to download the data I gathered from that rift into you." He looks back at the picture and says to himself, "Soon Dr. Ivo Robotnik, I will bring you here. With your power backing me up, I will rule the world!"  
  
As he laughs to himself again, he drops the comic he was holding and it flips back to the cover. On the cover of it is the title 'Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
A/N: If you hadn't figured it out, because of lack of brainpower or whatever, I'm bringing in Sonic the Hedgehog. Besides the obvious Sonic and Tails, I will be using other characters everybody is familiar with, including Shadow, Knuckles, Sally, Amy, and probably some others. This chapter was a tiny bit shorter, but I hope that didn't take away from the quality. Unlike other people, I don't want to spend all my time on action scenes. Any ideas or anything can be submitted in a review. I have to work on another fic, so it may be a while before I can update this one again. 


	5. The Festival

The Festival  
Well, I know it's been a while since I updated, but I've had a lot going on with graduation and stuff. I just want to say that this version of Mobius is a crossover of the video games and the Archie comic book series. The thing that I'm leaving out though is the fact that Shadow died. That pissed me off, so he's alive and a Freedom Fighter! Also, I hate Rouge, so she doesn't even exist. Hey, I'm the SI here, I can do what I want! On with the next chapter.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
LOCATION: KNOTHOLE, MOBIUS  
The sun was beating down upon the peaceful village of Knothole. A swift breeze blew through the courtyard as Sonic The Hedgehog is running at near light speed into Castle Acorn. Robotnik hadn't attacked for weeks, so King Max and Queen Alicia Acorn had named today a holiday. There was to be a festival, complete with games, prizes, food, music, and competitions for any of the Mobians who wanted to compete. Sonic bursts into the throne room where the king and queen are chatting together.  
"Sorry to interrupt," Sonic said as he stopped in front of them, "but is it too late to sign up for the racing competition?"  
Queen Alicia laughed and said, "Why my dear Sonic, it's never too late for the fastest Mobian to enter! It just wouldn't be the same without you!"  
"Indeed," stated King Max. "Sonic, are you aware that there is only one other applicant for this race?"  
"Nope, but that doesn't matter. It wouldn't matter if there was a million, I'm still way too past cool to lose this! But, if you don't mind me asking, who's this 'other applicant'?"  
"Mina Mongoose. She said she was looking forward to racing against you. She signed up moments after we announced the festival," Queen Alicia said.  
"Mina..." Sonic remembers the recent kiss the female Mobian gave him. Maybe there was something behind it? He shrugs it off and speeds out of the throne room.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Later that day, all of Knothole was gathered in the area designated for the festival. Music was playing, and everyone was having a great time. Even Shadow was there, but he was keeping to himself, so it was no different than usual.  
After everyone arrived, the competitions began. Princess Sally Acorn assumed the position of judge. The first event was a tug-of-war. Amy Rose and Tails were on one side, Antoine and Rotor on the other. It was pretty easy to see that this was a pretty outmatched competition.  
Antoine and Rotor were ready to go, but Amy and Tails were huddled discussing what seemed to be a strategy. After a couple of minutes, they break and pick up their side of the rope. Sally blows a whistle and both teams start pulling.  
"This should be a snap, Ant. We can't lose!" Rotor said.  
"Yes. And maybe when we win, Sally will finally realize what a great man I am!" Antoine says.  
"Yeah, whatever. Wait a second, why aren't we moving? I'm pulling as hard as I can!"  
Sure enough, they had been pulling and pulling, but hadn't moved an inch. In a moment they noticed that Tails had stuck both of his tails into the ground as an anchor! Clearly upset, Antoine protested to Sally, "They are cheating! He cannot do that!"  
"Sorry Antoine," Sally said "but Tails is using a part of his body, so it's perfectly legal."  
"Okay, Tails!" Amy said. "You were right, they're distracted. NOW!"  
Tails nods and both of them pull as hard as they can, taking the rope right out of Antoine and Rotor's unsuspecting paws. Sally runs over and holds up the paws of the two Mobian children. They were cheering at their victory, and all Antoine could do was weep in Rotor's arms.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
The next event was a test of strength. Knuckles was standing at a lineup of weights, waiting for his opponent. After a few minutes of waiting, he was beginning to get impatient. He didn't have to wait too much longer as the second contestant walked up: Shadow.  
Knuckles starts to laugh under his breath and says, "No offense Shadow, but isn't your 'thing' speed? Shouldn't you be in the race?"  
Shadow just looks straight into Knuckles' eyes and grins. "Maybe. Maybe not" is all the dark toned hedgehog says.  
Sally walks over to the two and says, "Okay Knux, you're first."  
Knuckles looks at each of the weights, starting at 50 pounds and moving up. After a moment, he skips the first few weights and stops at the 180 pound dumbbell. With nearly no straining at all, he lifts it over his head, holds it there for a few seconds, then sets it down. He then steps aside for Shadow to give it a try.  
Shadow glares down at the dumbbell. He doesn't say any thing, he just glares. Knuckles says, "Hey, if you want to back down, just say so. Speed's your game, not strength."  
Shadow, seemingly disgusted with the echidna's comments, bends over and grips the dumbbell in both hands, just like Knuckles had before him. Then, at the last moment, he takes his left hand off and lifts the weight into the air using only his right hand. He gives a slight smirk as he holds it there, then drops it nonchalantly. Knuckles, gives another laugh under his breath, clearly unimpressed. He skips another few weights and looks at the 300 pound dumbbell. With a grin on his face, he stares back over at Shadow.  
"If you want to show off," Knuckles says as he lifts the weight up and twirls it around from his right to his left hand, then back again, "do it right!" All the Mobians watching are cheering at this feat. Even Shadow almost goes wide-eyed at the sight. Even though impressed, he still goes over to take his turn. He lifts it up, but strains slightly while doing so. Nobody seems to notice too much except for Knuckles. Seeing this, he decides to take it up a notch. Knuckles goes over to the last dumbbell, weighing a full 800 pounds! After quite a bit of straining, he finally lifts the weighty object over his head. Shadow actually gets a shocked look on his face, but it subsides, and he gets an evil looking grin on his face.  
"Not bad, Guardian," Shadow says, still grinning.  
Knuckles' eyes go wide and says, "You were straining with that last one! How could you possibly do better!?"  
Shadow gestures over to Rotor and motions for him to sit on the 800 pound dumbbell. "Like this," Shadow says as Rotor nervously sits down on the bar. Shadow puts both hands under the large walrus, as Knuckles laughs at the hedgehog's overconfidence. Soon, many more of the Mobians are laughing along with him, even Rotor. After a few seconds of waiting for the laughter to die down, Shadow gives a loud yell as he vaults the dumbbell, along with Rotor, right into the air! Rotor screams as they disappear beyond the clouds. All the Mobians stare in awe and wonder at the sight.  
Sally, shaking her head to regain her sense, looks over at Shadow and says, "I... guess that means... you win. But, when is he going to come down?"  
Shadow holds out his arms, while screaming down comes Rotor. Shadow catches him, sets him down, and says to the princess, "Right about now."  
As Rotor shudders on the ground, he looks up and sees the dumbbell plummeting down. He quickly stands up and runs out of the way screaming as the dumbbell hits the ground right where he was laying. Then he passes out.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
After Rotor is revived, the big race is set to begin. Mina hasn't arrived yet, and Sonic, as per usual, is getting quite impatient.  
"I'm waiting!" Sonic says as he taps his foot in typical Sonic fashion. "Where's Mina? We've been waiting way too past long now!"  
Sally laughs a little bit, and Uncle Chuck turns to her and asks, "May I ask why you are laughing my young Princess Sally?"  
Sally turns to him and says, "Don't let Sonic know, but Mina is getting dressed. She's trying to look perfect, because this is to be such a special day for her."  
Chuck seems a little puzzled. (Well, he can't exactly LOOK puzzled. He's roboticized, so his face always looks the same.) "I guess the race against my nephew would be considered..."  
"No no no!" Sally cuts him off. "Although, it does have something to do with Sonic." She leans in a little closer to the elderly roboticized Mobian, "Don't let this get out, but Mina has always had a big crush on Sonic. She's been training night and day to be ready for this race, just so she can keep up with him to tell him how she feels. That's why she wants to look perfect! She's going to confess her love to Sonic! It's so romantic!"  
Chuck's eyes widen a little and says, "Mina and Sonic? I never would have guessed. I always thought that YOU and Sonic would end up together."  
"For a while, I almost thought the same thing. But then me and Mina talked, and she told me how she felt. She wants to know everything about Sonic, good and bad. She's so in love, that I don't think I stand a chance. Besides, it was really Sonic that liked me, not the other way around. Sure I like him, but just not that way." Sally stops talking and looks over Chuck's shoulder, "Hey, there she is now!"  
Mina is running almost too fast to see about a half mile away. What Sally had said about Mina training was obviously not a lie, because she was moving almost as fast as Sonic at top speed! She comes to a screeching halt at the starting line, right next to Sonic.  
Sonic's jaw dropped. Not only did she impress him with her speed, which is not easy to do, but it also had to do with how she looked. Mina wasn't wearing her usual black tank-top, tan shorts, and purple boots. She was wearing a tight black shirt that came down to around her bellybutton, a tan skirt, and purple sneakers resembling Sonic's. Also, she had her hair tied back, with her black headband replaced by a black hair-tie. Many of the male Mobians are whistling at the sight of her, with exception of Antoine, who's only interest is Sally. Even Tails gives a little whistle, but he is quickly silenced by Amy's Piko Piko hammer.  
Sonic mumbles a little as he says, "Um, you look good, Mina."  
Mina blushes and says in her cutest tone of voice possible, "Thanks, Sonic. Sorry I'm late."  
"I... didn't notice."  
"If you two lovebirds are finished," Sally interrupts, "can we get on with the race?"  
Both Mina and Sonic face opposite directions quickly and start laughing a little embarrassed chuckle, both blushing a little bit. After a moment of regaining their senses, they both get down into a sprinting stance.  
"On your marks, get set..." Sally says as she pulls out a small gun and fires into the air, "GO!"  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Sonic and Mina shoot out of the area, both leaving a cloud of dust in the air and a fire in their tracks. They were both moving so fast that this was going to prove to be a very short race. When they get outside the Knothole Village limits, Sonic is a few meters in the lead. For a few miles, Sonic is slowly gaining even more ground, while Mina is staying steadily at the same speed. When Sonic looks back at Mina and decides to speed up, Mina fires forward as well, coming right up next to him.  
"Sonic," Mina says, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you."  
"What?" Sonic says. "You want to go faster?" As if nothing had been said at all, Sonic speeds up so fast that he breaks the sound barrier, his top speed. Mina is left behind.  
Sonic is now nearing Robotropolis, the former land that Mobotropolis sat, now belonging to Dr. Ivo Robotnik's vast city, complete with factories. Even though this was obviously not set on the course for the race, Sonic felt he could tempt Fate a little. Little did he know that something was being planned right at that moment...  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"Snively!" Robotnik yelled at the top of his lungs. He was watching the surveillance monitors and caught sight of Sonic running right near Robotropolis. Robotnik was grinning evilly as if the last part of some master plan had just fallen into place.  
"Yes, sir." Snively, Robotnik's newly Roboticized nephew, walked into the room.  
"It's the rodent. Just as I thought, he is being his usual dangerous self and straying from the path for his race and is just outside Robotropolis City limits. Ready the new weapon and the swat-bots! We will assault Knothole before he arrives back!"  
Snively runs out of the room as his corpulent uncle descends through an opening in the floor to the hangar, cackling into the darkness.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
As Sonic gets back to the path, Mina is already only a mile away from the finish line at the edge of Knothole. He was really going to have to juice if he was going to make up for the lost time he had wasted on his side-trip. He speeds up so fast that he passes by her in seconds. Sonic thinks that he's lost her when she comes right up next to him.  
"Sonic!" she says. "I still had something to tell you! You sped off before I could tell you. The only reason I entered this race was so I could tell you..."  
A large explosion cuts her short in Knothole up ahead. Both Sonic and her speed up to see what happened. When they both cross what was supposed to be the finish line at the same time, they both catch sight of a horde of swat-bots burning down the forest and attacking Mobians. Then they see Robotnik in a large battleship/mech firing down upon the innocents below. Robotnik's familiar, evil voice echoes over a loudspeaker.  
"You're too late, hedgehog! It was all too easy to take your pitiful home over!" Robotnik says up in his ship. "Say hello to the Eggnaut, my greatest invention yet!" With that, Robotnik fires down upon the Castle, taking down one of the towers in the process.  
"There's no way you can win, Ro-'Butt'-Nik! Mina, can you put off telling me what you had to say until we can stop this goon?" Sonic said.  
"Yeah, it's waited so long already, why not wait a little longer. I'll try looking for some of the other Freedom Fighters," Mina says as she speeds off.  
"Right," Sonic says, "and I'll concentrate on taking down that 'Eggnut' or whatever he calls it." At that moment, he is swarmed by about ten swat-bots. "Just 10? That's all you're sending to protect your precious machine, fat-boy? Please!"  
In a Sonic Spin, the blue hedgehog hero leaps high above the heads of the robotic soldiers. When he is about twenty feet up, Sonic stops the spin and comes crashing down with a fury of kicks to the heads of two of the bots. After a while, the neck joints give way and the heads of the two swat-bots fall to the ground. No sooner than they expire, Sonic sets his sights on the rest of the mechanic stooges. In another Sonic Spin, he jumps up about waist level of the swatbots and slices seven of the remaining bots in two. Ending the spin, he lands on the ground perfectly on both feet. His back is to the last of the swat-bots, which he has seemingly forgotten was there.  
The bot brings up it's right arm, which has a dual barreled blaster rifle mounted on the wrist. Just as he is about to fire, a familiar set of white-gloved knuckles burst through the chest of the swat-bot.  
Sonic, without even looking back, says, " I was wondering when Mina was going to come back with you guys. That almost took an entire minute! Oh well. Nice punch, Knux."  
"Right," Knuckles responds. "Well, now that some of us are here, how are we going to get up there?"  
Tails raises his hand and says, "I can bring each of you up one by one! Who do I bring up first?"  
"Well," Sally says, "Shadow can use his Chaos Control to get up there, so you don't have to worry about him." She looks around at all else who are there. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Bunnie, Amy, Mina, and herself. "You should probably bring Bunnie up first. We'll need her strength right away."  
"You can count on me, Princess," Bunnie Rabbot says as she grabs on to Tails' front paws and is carried up to the Eggnaut.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
After all the Freedom Fighters present have been carried up, they begin their exploration of the gigantic airship. Through a hole that Bunnie punched through a hole in the ship's side, Sally takes the first peek inside. A swat-bot, who looks like it may be patrolling, passes by. When it sees them, Amy KO's it with her hammer before it can sound an alarm.  
"Got 'im!" Amy says as she smiles at a job well done.  
"Nicole, do you think that the swat-bot was maybe heading back to Robotnik to report?" Sally asks.  
Nicole, her computer companion, answers, "It is quite possible, Princess Sally. I suggest you all proceed in the direction he it was traveling. That is most likely the shortest path to Robotnik."  
Shadow sneers towards Nicole, "I still don't like the idea of following the orders of a calculator."  
Sonic puts his arm around the shoulder of his former nemesis and doppleganger Shadow and says, "Come on, Shadow! You're one of us now, so you do things the same way we do. Nicole solves problems better than any of us, so you should listen to her."  
"Whatever."  
"Are we going to go or not?!" Knuckles says impatiently.  
Shadow brushes him aside and huffs off in the direction that Robotnik's cockpit allegedly presides. The rest of the Freedom Fighters followed, with Mina and Sally in the back of the line. Sally slows down and motions for Mina to move at a slower pace and talk for a second.  
"So," Sally says when she is sure that they are far enough behind to be unheard, "how did it go with Sonic?"  
Mina looks down in a disappointed fashion as she says in a sad tone, "Robotnik kinda interrupted. I was just about to tell him when we got sidetracked by this situation. I was so close to actually telling him!"  
"Don't worry. You'll be able to tell him later."  
Mina looks up into Sally's eyes to acknowledge that she heard, then she looks down at her clothes, and holds her carefully braided hair that she had done especially for this day. When she catches sight of her shoes, she looks back up at Sally with a smile and says, "Maybe you're right Princess."  
"We talked about that. Call me Sally. Or have you already forgotten?"  
"Sorry... thank you, Sally."  
They both catch up with the rest of the group, and Shadow stops, both eyes closed as if in deep thought. Mina stops next to him and asks, "Why'd you stop? Did you realize something?"  
"No," he says. He opens up his right eye to look at Mina and says, "I heard you and Sally talking."  
"WHAT?! But how could you have..."  
"I have great hearing. Remember, I am the Ultimate Lifeform."  
"That's right," Mina says. She looks at him a little worried and says, "You aren't going to say anything, are you?"  
Shadow gives a little smirk and says, "If you want to tell him yourself, I'm not going to stand in your way."  
"Thanks. I owe you. Just make sure not to tell anybody."  
Mina and Shadow run up to catch the others, since they fell quite a bit behind. When they find them, all of the Freedom Fighters are stopped right outside a room. The large metal door is open just enough for everybody to see in. Inside, Robotnik is sitting at the controls to the Eggnaut, talking to Snively about something.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"This was pitiful. I expected a much better fight!" Robotnik says in despair.  
Snively rolls his eyes, making sure that his evil uncle doesn't see. Turning back to him, he says, "At least it was a victory, sir."  
"VICTORY?! Victory, Snively? The day is not won yet. The biggest thorn in my side hasn't come back yet, so we can't say we've won yet!"  
"You mean Sonic The Hedgehog, don't you?" a mysterious, unknown voice says from behind him.  
Robotnik turns around fast to see an old, balding man in a lab coat. Robotnik growls at him and says, "Who are you?! And how did you get in here?!"  
"Well, to answer your first question, I am the great Doctor Wily, mad genius extraordinaire!" Wily says, devoid of all modesty as usual. In the rift behind him follows Riftman. "Which leads to your second question. This fantastic specimen of artificial intelligence is Riftman. He has the power to open 'rifts' between one point and another. Across planets, dimensions, and even time itself. I myself, came from another planet AND reality. I come from a reality where you are merely a fictional character in video games, comics, and television."  
Robotnik looks at Snively, and Snively looks back, shrugging his shoulders after hearing what Wily was saying. Robotnik looks back at Wily and says, "Are you insane or something?"  
"So I've been told. That aside, I came here to offer you something."  
Robotnik presses a small button on the arm of the chair he is sitting in. From the ceiling, a large apparatus that looks like a laser of some type points directly at Wily and Riftman, "What are you selling, old man?!"  
"We aren't selling anything, you pompous fool!" Riftman yells at Robotnik.  
Wily holds up his hand to Riftman and says, "Now lets not get rash here, Riftman. Those lasers there seem to have us in check." Wily looks back towards Robotnik and says, "We mean no harm, at least not to you. You appear to be quite riled over Sonic The Hedgehog, correct? I can bring you and your beautiful Eggnaut here to my world to help me take over, rodent free."  
Robotnik thinks for a moment and says with an evil grin, "Alright, I'll bite. But, may I ask why you need my help? I mean, you obviously have technological knowledge, so why do you need me?"  
Wily's face gets an angry look on his face as he says, "I have some heroes in my world as well, which I have not been able to defeat. They are led by an inferior scientist named Dr. Light. With both of us working together, we can easily conquer Neo-Earth!"  
Robotnik laughs, "So when do we leave?!"  
Wily motions to Riftman and says, "Right about now!"  
Riftman raises his left arm, which has a strange device in the center of his palm. The device is a satellite-like object, surrounded in the same energy that the rifts are made of. He types a few numbers in on the control panel on his wrist and fires a beam out the windshield of the Eggnaut, which creates large rift outside bigger than the Eggnaut itself.  
Robotnik laughs and pulls the ship forward, "We're off! Neo-Earth, prepare to face the wrath of Dr. Ivo Robotnik!"  
Snively leans over to his uncle and says, "This is quite sudden. Are you sure we can trust this old man, sir?"  
Robotnik whispers back to Snively, "We don't need to worry about that. He's the one that needs to worry about us, because there is no way I'm going to share this new world with anyone."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"Whoa! They're going to another dimension?!" Tails asks..  
"Looks like it little bro," says Sonic.  
Bunnie looks a little worried, "We gotta get outta here, sugah!"  
Sonic looks at Bunnie and shoots back, "There's no way I'm going to let those guys take over a world, even if it is in another dimension. I'm staying on this ship, but if some of you guys want to back out, I won't feel any different about you."  
Sally says, "Well, I can't abandon the people of Knothole, and Bunnie should probably stay too. We need to rebuild, and her strength is needed."  
"Right," Knuckles says. "And maybe Tails and Amy should stay home, too."  
"No way!" the two children say in unison.  
"There's no time to argue!" Shadow says. He grabs Sally, Bunnie, Tails, and Amy, and runs out quickly. In a few seconds he is back. "They're gone."  
Mina looks back through the door, "And so are we!"  
The rift passes over them, and the four remaining Freedom Fighters go through the rift. Just as they pass through, Sonic says, "I hope that we can find those heroes that Dr. Wily guy mentioned. We can team up with them and take these guys down!"  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
LOCATION: NEO-CHICAGO, NEO-EARTH  
Vince was sitting on the table in Dr. Light's lab, waiting for him to get back with the results of the physical exam. Light thought it would be a good idea to check out Vince, seeing as how not only were his new wings obviously not normal for a human, but the Spirit power was not part of the prophecy of the Savior of Worlds. Nobody knew quite what to think, and even Satyr was beginning to seem concerned. Satyr, ever since getting to Neo-Earth, has pretty much stopped drinking. When she quit drinking alcohol almost completely, she became a much more sincere person, taking her position as Vince's partner fairy seriously. This came as a surprise even to Ruto, who knew her best. Dr. Light attributed it to a change in atmosphere. That and she discovered caffeine...  
"You know, I can't believe that Speedway is still open after all these years," Vince says to Satyr, who is sitting atop her 64 ounce mug filled with cappuccino.  
Satyr takes a sip from the straw sticking out the top, which is just about as big as her own fairy sized body, "And I'm kinda shocked that you actually know how to write poetry! You never wrote in Hyrule, so this is my first time actually reading your stuff," she says holding a small notebook. It was full of Vince's poems. Satyr enjoyed reading them, almost as much as Vince enjoyed writing them.  
"Thanks. It means a lot to me to have a fan."  
"This one is good, but you don't have a title for it. It says:"  
  
Love is fleeting  
Life, a short breath  
A journey, forever  
Even after death  
  
Questing for acceptance  
For friendship, for passion  
You'll find that too much effort  
Makes complicated relation  
  
Trying too hard  
Will end in Hell  
So do yourself a favor  
And just be yourself  
  
"That was one of the last poems I wrote before I left. I never really had a chance to give it a title. Any suggestions?" Vince asks.  
Satyr thinks for a minute and says, "How about 'Finding Yourself'?"  
At this point Dr. Light walks in. Vince says, "That sounds great. Bass used to write poetry, and so did the doc. Maybe you might want to read some of theirs too?"  
"No," Light says as he enters the chat, "mine weren't like yours, so they might turn her off to poetry altogether."  
"You were good and you know it. So, what's the verdict on my physical?"  
Dr. Light paces around a little, as if looking for the right words. Finally, he says, "I've never seen anything like this. In my professional opinion, I could swear you weren't human."  
"Not human?! Bass yells as he, Ruto, Link, Zelda, and Megaman pass by the door.  
"If Vince ain't human, what the heck is he?" Megaman asks.  
"Can't be a Hylian. Lack of pointy ears," Ruto says. Link and Zelda look annoyed at that comment.  
Zelda looks back towards Light and asks, "Do you have any idea what he might be?"  
"No. Not a clue" he responds.  
This whole time, Satyr is sitting on Vince's shoulder, talking to him. He had no idea how to react, so he started to shed a few tears. Link is the first to notice this scene, so he stops all the others and tells them. He sits next to Vince, and Ruto sits on the other side.  
"I know how you feel, bud. When I found out I wasn't a Kokiri, I was just out of it!" Link says to his friend Vince.  
"Vince," Ruto says, "you're thinking about your family, aren't you?"  
"Yeah, he is," Satyr says.  
Bass asks her, "He told you that?"  
"No. Because I'm his fairy partner, we have some sort of mental link. We can tell what each other's thinking and feeling, as long as we want the other to know. All I know is that it didn't kick in till I stopped drinking. It might work with other people if we worked on it, but this is good for now."  
Vince looks up from the floor and says, "I might not even be from Earth! My parents aren't even my real parents, and I don't know who I am!"  
"On the upside," Megaman says, "at least you aren't related to your dad!"  
"Rock!" Light yells, glaring at Megaman. "Although true, now is not the time!"  
Roll walks in before Megaman can say anything back and says, "Dr. Light, there is... some 'people' here to see you..."  
Before she can even finish, two hedgehogs, an echidna, and a mongoose come in. The blue hedgehog looks around and says, "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Which one of you is Doctor Light?"  
Vince looks at them and says excitedly, "Holy crap! It's Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, and Mina! How the hell...?"  
Dr. Light steps towards them and says, "I am Dr. Light. If you hadn't noticed, your reputation precedes you all. You are all fictional characters in our world."  
"Yeah, we found that out by eavesdropping on some crack-pot named Wily," Knuckles says.  
"We came here through some sorta rift thingy or whatever," Mina says, answering Vince's question.  
Shift walks in, followed by Protoman, and says, "We were listening in. You said you came through a rift? But how is that possible?! I didn't open a rift!"  
"Some thing named Riftman. A bot," Shadow says.  
"So Wily has rift technology now? This could be trouble," Protoman says.  
An explosion is heard outside, followed by a tremor that rocks the entire place.  
"Oh, forgot to mention he brought a friend from our world", Sonic says. "Since you know about us, maybe you've heard of him? His name's..."  
"Robotnik!" Vince says, standing up so fast that Satyr almost falls off his shoulder.  
Satyr steadies herself and says, "Looks like we're off to fight again! I'm ready!"  
Megaman and Bass whistle for Rush and Treble. The two robodogs enter and go into jet mode. Megaman and Protoman get on Rush, and Bass and Shift get on Treble, and they zoom out of the lab. As they leave, Shift says something with an upset look on his face, but nobody hears him. All but Ruto, Roll, Zelda, and Light follow. Then, Ruto runs out and follows as well, even though Zelda, Roll, and Dr. Light try to stop her.  
Roll sits down and says, "I hope she'll be okay."  
"She'll be fine," Zelda says. "She's got ways of protecting herself, and Vince will look after her."  
Light looks a little worried and says, "With Wily and Robotnik working together, I don't know if any of them will be safe." 


	6. Darkness Sonata

You know, I probably should've done this a while ago. All the copyright info is as follows, including a character that I am introducing in this chapter:  
  
Vincent Wolf, Satyr Aron, Shift Light, Riftman and the mystery character are copyright Vincent Wolf Mike Allen, Jason Schultes and Mike "Wolf" Lewis are copyright Echoes of the Mind Link, Zelda and Ruto are copyright Nintendo Megaman, Dr. Light, Roll, Protoman, Bass, Rush, Treble and Dr. Wily are copyright Capcom Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Sally, Shadow, Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor, Mina, King Acorn, Queen Acorn, Uncle Chuck, Robotnik and Snively are copyright Sega  
  
Now before my brain starts to hurt from trying to think of any other characters that I can be sued for using, here's the next chapter. Grab some popcorn and find a seat close to the bathroom, because you're going to be here for quite a while.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
DARKNESS SONATA  
  
"Okay," Satyr says while flying behind Vince, who is also flying, "who's this Robotnik guy again?"  
Vince says to her, "He is an evil dictator from a world called Mobius. He has the ability to turn an organic life form into a robot with only a touch. Our new friends here are also from Mobius.  
You see, like the planet of Hylas, namely Hyrule, Mobius is also a world that exists only in fantasy in my reality."  
"Technically, it ain't your reality," Shift says, who is flying beside Vince and Satyr with Bass, both of them riding on Treble. "Didn't you just find out you aren't from that world?"  
Bass looks over to see a sad look on Vince's face and says, "Shift, you need to learn some people skills!"  
Shift responds, "Why? I hate people, and I hate that I'm forced to work with people!"  
"Shut up, tin-man!" Knuckles yells at Shift. "Aren't you guys supposed to be a team? I used to be a loner, too, but you should really wise-up and realize that these guys are all trying to work for a common cause. You seem to be against it. Destiny seems to have forced us Mobians to work with you guys, so that makes us a part of your team. I personally don't want to hear my teammates badmouthing me!"  
Shift looks over at Knuckles and says, "I didn't ever say I was against you all. I just prefer to work alone. That aside, I'm outspoken, and I can't help that."  
Satyr responds to this by saying, "You said hate. I heard you say you hated people."  
"Okay, sorry! Maybe hate was too strong of a word. I may prefer to work alone, but I won't cause any problems when it comes to fighting."  
"Good to hear," Knuckles says. "We're almost outside, and that Eggnaut thing is not going to be a fun thing to fight against."  
"Eggnaut?" Vince says questioningly. "What the heck is an Eggnaut?" As they pass through the front doors of the building, his question is answered.  
Satyr looks up at the mechanical giant, now in mech-mode, and says, "I'm guessing it's that!"  
Link looks around and sees many swat-bots all over the place. He says, "Time to put a few bad guys to sleep! Who's with me?" as he draws his sword.  
"Sounds like an idea, pal!" Sonic says as he goes into full Sonic Spin.  
Mina pulls out a handgun and says, "I knew this would come in handy eventually!"  
Ruto runs out the door, a little behind everyone else. She runs behind Vince and says, "Am I late?"  
Vince turns around and says, "I thought you were staying with Light, Zelda, and Roll! Why are you here?!"  
Ruto shoots back, "I wanted to help! I'm not going to let you get hurt, so I came to help you!"  
"Fine, but you try not to get hurt, too," he says. Like his other battles, Vince once again plays a song on the Tek. This time it's 'Bodies' by Drowning Pool.  
The Hero-bots all get off the robo-dogs and send them back into the laboratory. When they are inside, everybody separates and start fighting the army of swat-bots.  
Sonic, who is already in Sonic Spin, slices right through a lineup of eight swat-bots. Right at the waist, each of them falls to the ground in two pieces. Sonic comes back to the ground and trips another swat-bot, making it land on one of the ones that he had just taken out. This bot explodes on impact, causing a chain reaction, which destroys around twenty others. After they explode, more begin to fall to the ground as well. Sonic looks around to see how this came about, and sees Mina firing away at the swat-bots, hitting many of them directly in the head. He looks a little impressed at her marksmanship, and goes back to fighting. Knuckles and Shadow are beating any swat-bots that come near them completely senseless. Knuckles, using his fists of seemingly steel, punches right through the enemy's defenses, while Shadow makes good use of his Chaos Control ability and takes several bots by surprise. Megaman and Protoman go back to back, charging up their Buster Cannons. With a fully charged blast from each of them, they nearly level the area they were fighting in. All that is left of the swat-bots that were in the line of fire are robotic feet standing right where they were beforehand, with random assortments of transistors and other parts littering the battlefield. The battle rages on, with all the heroes taking on their fair share of fighting. Link is cutting down swat-bots with Spin Blade attacks from his sword, and Ruto blasts away some of the bots with pillars of water. Shift opens up a rift, and then using his own Buster Cannon, knocks a couple bots through it, sending them to a darkness from which they can never return. Bass fires rapidly at approaching swat-bots, but because his buster is unable to be charged, he only puts holes in the evil robots. Satyr draws her dagger and flies into one of these holes and cuts some wires inside of the bot. With lightning speed, she does this again and again, until each one of the bots with a hole in it shuts down. Even though all of the heroes are fighting valiantly, it seems like there is no possible end in sight. Vince is even getting a little run down. He activated his Fire Armor at the beginning of the fight, and has been slashing away with flaming swipes from his staff for quite a while. No matter how hard they all fight, the swat-bots just keep coming and coming. Everyone is tiring from battle when the enemy starts beating them back. There is just way too many of them. Even Sonic is slowing down, exhausted from speeding around so fast and losing stamina. Suddenly, another rift opens on the battlefield, sucking in all of the swat- bots. All the heroes look over to Shift, but he is completely oblivious to what happened. Realizing that the battle may be over, Vince looks over to Satyr and asks, "Is it soup yet?" Satyr laughs a little bit and says, "Yeah, it's soup." "But how did this happen?" Link asks. Jumping down from the Eggnaut is a bioroid that none of them had seen before. "Call me crazy, but I think that he might have had something to do with this," Mina says. "Uh, thanks for the assist, but who are you?" Megaman asks, looking puzzled. Protoman looks at the visitor and says, "He just came down from Wily and Robotnik's little toy. He's probably working for them!" "I am Riftman," he says. He holds his right arm in pain as he limps forward. "I was created by Dr. Wily to be his liaison between worlds. I need your help." Shift shouts at him, "If you're with Wily, why should we help you?!" Riftman closes his eyes, facing downward as he says, "Robotnik double- crossed us. When he thought that you could all easily be destroyed, he fired upon me and Dr. Wily. I escaped with my life, but I fear that my master may have not been so lucky." Ruto looks over to Vince and asks, "Do you believe him?" Vince steps in front of Riftman, looking directly into his eyes. He gazes for a few moments, staring deep into the confines of the bot's soul. When he is finished, he looks back at Ruto and says, "We can trust him." "I'll take him back to the doc to get him some help with his arm," Protoman says. He then leaves with Riftman limping beside him into the laboratory. When they are inside, Shift looks over to Vince with an angry look on his face. "Why did you just let him go?! He's with Wily! We can't trust him!" Shift yells at him. Vince looks back at Shift and says, "Destiny is a strange thing. It can pair up some of the most unlikely of friends. For example, no matter how rude and independent you are, we all still trust you as a friend. Yet, despite all that trust, you still don't trust us to fight beside you." Shift is stunned. He hadn't had it pointed out for him like that before. All this time these people had tried to be his friends, and he repaid the favor by pushing them away at any cost. He was a shrewd jerk, and it finally hit him. Shadow looks up at the Eggnaut and says, "We have company." Raining down, there is hundreds of swat-bots, accompanied by many other robots, each that are like larger versions of the swat-bots, with larger weapons to go along with them. Shift starts charging his Buster Cannon and says, "Okay team, let's tear them apart!" Megaman laughs as he readies his Buster Cannon and says, "Let's do it!" "Okay," Vince says, "Sonic, Mina, Ruto, Bass, and Link, come with me! Sonic, since you and Mina have been in that Eggnaut thing, so do you think you can lead us to Robotnik? If we find him, we can stop this swarm of bots." "No prob, dude!" Sonic winks and gives a thumbs up. "Great! Let's get up there, then!" Vince says. He activates his Earth Armor and makes a piece of land jut out from under them and raise them up to the opening in the side of the Eggnaut. While they ascend, the other fighters battle below them.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"This is... different," Mina says as they enter the interior of the Eggnaut. Satyr, hovering by Vince, asks, "How so?" "Well," Sonic answers, "there used to be a bunch of hallways in here. Now there's only one path. This is giving me the creeps. Way uncool." "Seeing as how it's the only path, it's probably the right way," Ruto says. Bass laughs a little as he says, "Thanks. I didn't think we would have been able to tackle this mystery without you, Captain Obvious!" "Shut up!" Vince yells as he whacks Bass in the back of the head, sending him flying forward into a wall. "Damn that hurt!" Bass screams in pain. "You still had your Earth Armor on, you stupid beatnik!" "I'm not a freakin' beatnik!" Vince yells as he hits Bass again, denting his helmet. Sonic sees this and says to Mina, "Remind me never to call that guy a beatnik." Mina nods and says, "Yeah, that would probably be the healthiest plan of action." "Vince, you gotta learn to control your temper," Link says. "I mean, sure he called you a beatnik and insulted your girlfriend..." "Could we go already?!" Satyr cuts the argument short. Sonic whispers to Link,"I'm sensing a little jealousy from the small chic. How about you?" "Maybe a little," the Hylian responds quietly. Vince looks down the hallway and says, "I guess we have wasted enough time here. You ready to go Bass?" Bass rubs his head and sneers at Vince, then nods and moves with them through the hall.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++  
  
It is a relatively short trip before the reach a large chamber filled with machines mass-producing the swat-bots. At the far end of the chamber sits an empty control console. With Robotnik nowhere in sight, the heroes move forward.  
"Okay," Vince says, "all we have to do is turn this thing off and the bots stop coming."  
Satyr lands on the console next to the controls labeled 'SWAT-BOT PRODUCTION' and presses a large button labeled 'OFF'. Several machines screech to a halt. Flashing the anime sign for victory, Satyr smiles and says, "Mission accomplished! I'll be taking my award now, bartender!"  
"Later. Right now we have to find Robotnik and Wily," Vince responds.  
Suddenly, the lights begin to dim around them. A booming voice calls to them from the darkness surrounding them, "Look no further, you fools!"  
Mina shudders. "I'd recognize that voice anywhere..."  
"Buttnik," Sonic says in a low tone.  
The lights turn back on, and standing where they had entered, is Dr. Robotnik in a mechanical suit. He takes a few steps in and the door slams down behind him. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Snively!"  
A cage surrounds the heroes in an instant. From the shadows emerges the evil Doctor's diminutive nephew holding a small remote device.  
Satyr whispers in Vince's ear, "I can get through these bars no problem. I'll just open the cage with that big nose guy's thingamajig over there."  
With that, she flies in Snively's direction. Before Sonic can warn her, she gets thrown back at Vince's feet by an invisible force.  
Robotnik laughs maniacally, "There is no escape from me! You fools will all die here!"  
Vince picks up Satyr, who is a bit shaken, and says, "I should have known there would be a force field. Okay Fatso, what do you want?"  
This takes Robotnik aback, but then laughs again, "Now aren't a brave lad. I must know the name of this winged boy who dares to insult the great Dr. Ivo Robotnik."  
"The name is Vincent Wolf, and I want to know what you've done with Wily."  
"Simple enough," the villain says. "He has been disposed of. Rather than share this world with him, I'm taking it for myself."  
In a scared tone, Princess Ruto says, "You murdered your own partner... why?"  
"Oh, he's still alive, in a matter of speaking," Robotnik says.  
"So what you're saying is, that you used that 'Midas Touch' of yours to turn Dr. Wily into a robot?" Vince says knowingly.  
"I'm done answering questions!" Robotnik yells. "I've won, and you will all be destroyed rather than given immortal robot bodies. I believe I'll start with a rather annoying blue thorn in my side."  
The right arm of Robotnik's mech suit raises to point at Sonic's head. Mina screams as a ball of energy erupts from the mounted blaster and goes straight through the cage at Sonic. A loud impact is heard, and the area fills with dust.  
"I'VE DONE IT!" Robotnik squeals in delight, "I've finally defeated Sonic the Hedge..."  
His words are cut short as the dust settles, revealing an unharmed Sonic. It immediately becomes apparent how when Robotnik sees a rocky formation extending from Vince's arm in front of the blue Mobian.  
The visor hiding Robotnik's face lifts revealing a very enraged madman. "You... the insolence! How dare you interfere with my vengeance against that meddlesome rodent!?" Robotnik yells.  
Vince deactivates his Earth Armor and looks at Robotnik, "What do you expect me to do, say I'm sorry? Don't plan on it, lard-ass."  
"I don't expect you to say anything anymore, Mr. Wolf," Robotnik says as he gets an evil grin on his face, "I expect you to stand there and die like a good little boy."  
Again the right arm of the mechanical suit lurches toward a new target, this time being Vince. With an ear-shattering crack, the gun blasts towards the winged hero.  
"NO!" Ruto yells as she pushes Vince across the cage and out of the way. In a blinding flash, the ball of energy hits the Zora princess.  
Time seems to stand still. All the heroes look on in horror as Ruto falls. For what seems like an eternity, Vince gets to his feet and runs over to her. He drops to his knees next to Link, who is already at her side.  
"Ruto," Satyr cries as she sees her friend's body lying on the floor, "Please, don't be dead. DON'T BE DEAD!"  
Tears start streaming from Link's eye's as he says, "Ruto, wake up... oh, Goddess, please let her be alright."  
Mina and Sonic rush over, and immediately embrace after seeing Ruto on the floor lifeless. Bass looks, but then looks away and hangs his head in despair.  
Ruto's eyes slowly open, and she turns her head to Vince. She reaches up with her right arm and lets her hand rest on the side of his face. He puts his hand over hers and begins to shed tears as she uses her final breaths to say something, "Vincent Wolf, Savior of Worlds," she coughs as she pauses, then continues, "I... I love you..."  
And with that, her arm falls lifeless. Vince slowly lets her arm drop to her side, and then shuts her eyelids with two fingers. Satyr flies down to Ruto's body and just curls up on the floor crying. Mina holds Sonic by the shoulders and looks into his eyes, "Sonic I..."  
"Not now, Mina," Sonic looks over at Vince, "Not now."  
The winged hero weeps as he looks down at her corpse. Bass comes behind him and puts a hand on his shoulder and says, "I'm sorry, Vince," he closes his eyes in remorse, "I know how you..."  
"Shut up," Vince says as he stops crying, "how could you possibly know how I feel you emotionless hunk of metal!" A dark aura begins to form around him.  
"Vince," Link says, "I know you're upset, but that..." Vince looks down and begins to laugh as the dark aura begins to spread. Link gets up and backs away, as does everyone else.  
Wiping tears from her eyes, Satyr says in a worried tone, "Vince, what's going on? I can't hear your thoughts or anything..."  
He ignores her and gets to his feet and raises his arms. In an angry flick of his arms, he tosses the Elemental Staff on the ground with one arm and throws off the Cuirass with the other. With the two items laying at the edge of the cage, he extends his right arm and points at them. Channeling the dark energy around him, he smirks as it concentrates at the end of his finger. His eyes go wide as he fires the darkness at them and yells, "SHADOW BOLT!" As the ray expels from his body, so does what looks to be another person! The other being falls to the ground behind him. In a flash, the Elemental Staff and Cuirass shatter to pieces.  
Link looks down at the man that fell out of Vince and says, "Am I... seeing double or something?"  
Sure enough, on the ground is Vincent Wolf, or, at least what looks like him. His wings are a dead giveaway. Sonic looks at this and says, "Something tells me... ah, who am I fooling, I don't know what the hell's going on!"  
The standing Vince's dark aura subsides, revealing something even more frightening to behold. For on his back, where once there were beautiful angelic wings, stand two dark and foreboding bat-like demon wings.  
"This is even starting to freak ME out," Bass says in a troubled tone.  
Immediately after these words, the darker Vince turns to face Robotnik, who is rendered speechless by the events that have just transpired before him. He can't believe what just happened. Did that Vincent boy just split in two?  
"Well," Vince finally speaks, "now that I've taken care of those damn pieces of junk shackling my power," he gestures towards the pile of staff and cuirass shards, "I guess the next thing standing in my way would be an overweight no talent hack of a scientist."  
"What does he mean, 'shackling his power'?" Link asks himself.  
Sonic points over at Vince and says, "Guys, check it out!"  
Vince is now standing about a foot away from the bars of the cage surrounding them. With both hands, he reaches out to grab the bars. As soon as he grabs hold, though, the force field shocks him, yet still, he holds on. More dark energy flows to his hands as he stares at Robotnik with a menacing grin. All of a sudden, the dark power rushes through the bars, incinerating most of the cage. Stepping through, Vince advances towards Robotnik. Robotnik lowers his visor and begins firing volley after volley of blasts from his arm cannon. As the blasts near him, Vince slashes arm in front of him with lightning speed, deflecting each blast back at Robotnik. With a shrill scream of pain, the evil Doctor Robotnik is bombarded with blasts from his own mechanical suit. Both of the arms and the right leg are blown right off, and there is extensive damage to the main part of the suit as well.  
"I think we should get out of here," Mina says as she looks on in horror.  
Link nods and says, "Agreed. Satyr, fly ahead and tell everyone what's happened. You two," he looks over to Sonic and Mina, "see if you can capture that short guy who put us in this cage. Bass, you..."  
"I'll help you carry Vince out of here," Bass stops him, "but I don't think anything can be done for Ruto."  
Sonic and Mina rush off to find Snively, while Satyr flies over to the door operating mechanism and opens the exit. She then escapes while Link and Bass grab the Vince that's still on the floor. In a minute, they are both out the door.  
"So," the dark Vince says as he steps up and leans in to peer at Robotnik's terrified face, "let me ask you something."  
In a scared, quiet voice, Robotnik responds, "What do you want from me?"  
Vince gets an evil grin on his face, "Why are you evil? Is it the power? Or is it possibly the need for a rival in that blue hedgehog? Or is it just that your daddy didn't hug you as a child?"  
"Power... I suppose. What... what do you want with me?"  
"I'll tell you what I expect of you, Julian Kintobor." Vince says as he gets back up to his feet, pointing a finger with darkness at the tip at Robotnik. "I expect you to lay there and die like a good little boy."  
In one final scream, Robotnik and the Eggnaut are engulfed in the darkness.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++  
  
BACK IN THE LAB:  
  
"We couldn't find Snively," Sonic says. "Somehow that little snake always finds a place to hide."  
"It's alright," Dr. Light responds. "What matters is that you are all safe."  
Zelda, who is sitting in a chair a few feet away, says sadly, "But what about Ruto... and Vince? What about them?"  
"Yes, well I think it's clear that the one that is unconscious in the other room is most definitely our Vincent Wolf. But that other one... even my years of scientific experience can't explain what has happened. As for Princess Ruto... I only wish I could have been there to help."  
"You wouldn't have been able to do anything, Dr. Light," Mina says, "but I think we all feel bad about what happened."  
"I hope angel-boy wakes up soon," Megaman says.  
Shift, who's standing in the corner with his eyes closed and arms crossed, says, "He probably just needs some rest."  
"The battle took its toll on everyone," Shadow says, who is just walking in. "Even Knuckles is still asleep, and Protoman is recharging."  
"Satyr hasn't left Vince's side since we put him in there," Link says. "But she'll fall asleep when she needs to. The rest of us should probably turn in as well."  
Zelda, who is still mourning the loss of Ruto, says, "I... don't think I'll be able to get to sleep."  
"I know. Me either."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++  
  
It is several weeks later, and it has been anything but peaceful. Zelda has returned to Hyrule to take care of the kingdom, with the help of Shift, and the Mobians have also returned home. All that was left of the battle was twisted scrap metal from the swat-bot army and the strange destruction of the Eggnaut. Vince has still not woken up from his coma, and no more is heard from the dark Vincent Wolf that appeared that day. At least, until one night...  
In the room where Vincent is being monitored by machines, the place is littered with several bottles of alcohol. Satyr is still sitting in her usual spot that she has taken for the past several weeks, on Vince's chest, keeping up her vigil. She has slept very little, and has eaten only when she desperately needed to. In her mind, she thinks about how long it has been.  
"5 weeks, 6 days, and 5 hours," she thinks, "that's how long he's been asleep. I wonder what he's thinking." She flies over to the windowsill and looks out at the stars. "That other Vince. I wonder what happened to him. He gave me the shivers. I know he wasn't our Vince. He was way too scary to be. He didn't even show any sign of caring about Ruto's death or anything..."  
In the next room over, a scream is heard that nearly makes Satyr lose her balance. As she flies out the door to see what's going on, she thinks, "That came from Riftman's room! What did he do?! Did he attack someone? I should have known we couldn't trust..."  
As she exits the room and looks toward Riftman's, she realizes the situation is even grimmer than what she thought. At the end of the hallway, a dark figure is standing before a man-sized rift. In his right hand, he is holding what looks to be an arm. The man steps through the rift, followed by what looks like a pair of grisly, bat-like wings.  
"You!" Satyr yells as she speeds towards the man, but she is already too late. She flies through nothing as the rift closes behind the stranger. Running from another hallway are the hero bots, Link, Roll, and Doctor light, also looking for the source of the scream it would seem.  
Link is the first to speak. "What happened? We all heard a scream. Is Vince okay?"  
"Yeah, he's still sleeping. But Riftman..."  
The entire group rushes to the door to his room. Laying on the ground in a mangled mess is Riftman, minus his left arm. Light kneels down beside him. After a moment of looking at the metal man's body, he looks up at everyone and says, "He's gone. Even I can't save him."  
Roll looks down and shakes her head, "Who could have done such a thing..."  
"One thing is for sure," Megaman says, "it couldn't have been anybody here."  
"It was Vince!" Satyr yells. "Or, should I say, it was that other Vince. He stole the arm and escaped through a rift!"  
"If what you're saying is true," Light says, "then we might still be able to catch him. Shift, go and trace the remnants of the energy signature of the rift he left through."  
Without saying a word, the bioroid heads for the door. When he gets there, a familiar face stops him.  
"Hey everybody. I miss anything?" "Vince!" Satyr screams in happiness as she flies at him and hits in the chest, knocking him to the floor. Sitting up on his chest, she starts tearing up as she says, "I missed you so much!" As he struggles to compose himself, he says, "I missed you too... but where have I been? And why are all these hospital suction cup thingies on me?" "I've monitoring your condition for weeks now," Dr. Light explains with a smile on his face as Link and Bass help Vince to his feet. "You've been in a coma for..." "5 weeks, 6 days, 5 hours, and 27 minutes. Roughly," Satyr says in the air as she flies up to land on Vince's shoulder once he is standing. "She hasn't left your side," Links says as he wipes a small tear from his eye, "Or lost track of time, it would seem." Vince looks at the fairy on his shoulder and says "Really? You stayed by me that whole time... wait a second, I know I'm a little groggy from just waking up, but what do you guys mean? I was in a coma!?" "Yeah," Megaman says. "We were all pretty worried that you wouldn't wake up. Except for Satyr. She never lost faith that you would get better." "I see..." Vince says as he looks around and finally notices Riftman's disconfigured body on the floor. "What the hell happened here?" Light looks down at the body and says, "It seems that after Robotnik killed Ruto, you split into two halves: you, and another man who looks exactly like you." "With exception of the big scary demon wings!" Bass adds excitedly, remembering the dark Vince. "Right. Well, it seems that your doppelganger attacked and murdered our friend here and made off with his arm." "Wow," Vince says. "There's another me running around out there in Neo- Chicago somewhere?" "He could be anywhere by now," Protoman says. "Satyr tells us she saw him escape through a rift he made with Riftman's portal opening device." "This is so weird..." Vince says, "as if being in another world with video game characters, finding out I'm not human, and spending time with a drunken fairy wasn't strange enough..." "Hey!" Satyr says back as she punches him in the cheekbone. "Ouch! I'm sorry! But anyway, as if all of that wasn't enough, now there is an evil visage of me stealing body parts from dead bioroids and then jumping into other dimensions!? I have questions, and I'll bet that the other me has got the answers. Let's follow him!" "We were just getting ready to do so," Shift explains, "but then you woke up." "Well," Vince says as he cracks his knuckles, "what are we waiting for? Let's go!"  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++  
  
A/N  
  
Well, here I thought I could end this first book with this chapter, and I wrote myself into a bunch more stuff. Now I doubt I'll finish it for a couple if not a few more chapters. At least I finally finished this one.  
  
It has been well over a year now since Mike Allen died, and nearly 2 years since I updated last. He had a chance to read the first couple of pages of this chapter before he died, and I think he's probably looking down on me happy that I finally finished it. This one was for you, man. I miss you everyday. Every single one of us writers that knew you, miss you, but me especially. They only got to know you through the net and such, but I knew you outside of that. I saw you nearly every day for more than a year. Then, you were taken away from all of us October fourth of 2002, just 4 days before my nineteenth birthday. I heard you were planning a surprise party for me in your last days. That just proves how selfless you actually were, always putting others before yourself, even on your deathbed. Thanks for being the closest thing to a brother I ever knew.  
  
In memory of Michael Quentin Allen, Echoes Of The Mind February 22, 1984-October 4, 2002  
  
Rest in peace my friend... 


End file.
